Second Chances III: Redemption
by Hero541
Summary: Josh Daniels and Vinyl Scratch are now apart because of Filthy's cruel and hateful ways. Josh must learn to cope with the grim reality of his situation, and is forced to be in a world he no longer knows. Vinyl, in the meantime, must also deal with not having the love of her life and hiding a precious secret from Filthy's prying eyes.
1. Chapter 1: Aftermath

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

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Chapter 1: Aftermath

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 1: Aftermath

Martha made her way down the hall of the little old farmhouse, the aged wooden floorboards creaking as she set foot on them. Upon reaching the end of the short walkway, she stopped at the door in front of her and gently pushed it open, looking towards the bed in the center of the room and its sole inhabitant.

It was a young man, very tall and handsome, with short, brown hair and slightly tanned skin. He lay in the bed, fully clothed and seemed to be extremely restless. He tossed and turned over and over again, mumbling in his sleep as he did so. After some time, he stopped stirring, but still continued to mutter incoherently.

The old woman felt pity bubble up in her stomach as she watched the obviously perturbed young man suffer in his dreams. She closed the door gently and made her way back down the short hall and into the rather spacious living room. An aged, rather portly man sat in a recliner, watching the softly glowing television before his eyes. As Martha entered, he looked to her, his own concerned expression matching hers.

"How's the boy doin'? he asked, shutting the television off as his wife took a seat in the nearby easy chair and sighed a little.

"He's tossing and turning like there's no tomorrow, and he won't stop mumbling in his sleep." she replied, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose gently.

"He sure was upset when I found him." stated Otis, looking away from his wife and recalling the events that had transpired the previous day, "Just kept sayin' he'd lost her..."

"Lost who?" inquired Martha.

"I think he said it was... Vinyl. Whoever that is."

"Maybe that's his girlfriend he was talking about last time he was here." suggested Martha, replacing her glasses and looking to Otis who glanced back in her direction.

"Maybe... That's a rather odd name for a girl though, don't ya think?" asked the old farmer, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Well, you know how names go nowadays." said Martha, "I'm sure that 'Vinyl' is about as socially accepted now as Betty or Bob was back in our day."

"That's entirely possible... But it still don't answer the bigger question here, the one I know both you and I've been thinkin' about all night."

"How'd he get here?" Martha finished.

The elderly couple looked away from each other once more and contemplated the question at hand. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time that the young music producer had suddenly appeared on their little Kansas farm. Almost a year ago, Otis had heard some sort of disruption and wander out into his field to find the tall young man laying there, unsure of how he even managed to get there himself. Last time, however, he was much less disturbed...

"What're we gonna do, Otis?" asked Martha, drawing her husband's attention once more, "We can't just let him back out in the world like this. With as emotionally disturbed as he seems, he'd stand absolutely no chance of making it!"

"Well," Otis began, glancing down the hall towards where Josh was staying, "we'll do what any good Christian folks ought to. We'll take him in for a bit, at least till he's decided what his next move's gonna be."

Martha nodded and glanced out the window at the slowly lightening sky. Upon glancing at the clock, she noticed it was a little past seven in the morning.

"Wow," she said, rubbing her eyes, "we've been up all night, haven't we?"

"Well, I suppose we'd better get some shuteye then." Otis said, standing up and making for their room next to Josh's at the end of the hallway, "If we're gonna help him at all, we'd better be well rested."

Martha nodded and slowly stood to join her husband as the two made their way back to check on Josh for a second before heading to their own bedroom. Staying up all through the night to keep an eye on the producer afforded them the luxury of easy sleep, but their unexpected house guest was still suffering the loss of his love in the form of uneasy and disturbing dreams. Josh's mind was still haunted by the beautiful face of his marefriend as she cried and begged for the princesses of Equestria not to take her lover away, a plea all in vain as he was violently torn away from her and the world he had come to call home.

The bright, golden sun began to rise over the little town of Ponyville, bathing the village in its warm and comforting light. Luna, the Equestrian princess of the night, would normally have taken this time as her cue to return to her home in Canterlot to sleep and prepare for the next evening. Yet, the royal indigo alicorn still sat on a small cloud outside the home of Octavia Philharmonica, peering in through the upstairs window at a cream colored unicorn mare with a shaggy blue mane and tail as well as a black connected eighth note tattooed on her flanks. The fur on her face was heavily matted and her already disheveled mane was even messier than normal. This particular mare, known as Vinyl Scratch, had spent almost the entire night crying heavily over the loss of the absolute love of her life, her human coltfriend, Josh Daniels.

As the night princess watched the gentle rise and fall of the distraught mare's chest, she felt nothing but guilt tug at her heartstrings. Her carelessness in the Canterlot Statue Garden had seemingly lead to such a sad sight. All she'd meant to do was vent her frustration over her sister's insane plan to introduce Josh to Equestria in the hopes that the loving and tolerant natures of the ponies there could change his cynical and emotionally destructive ways. Thought the night princess had initially disagreed with it all, she was heavily surprised to see that her sister's inhibitions had not only been correct, but that Josh had decided to return to Equestria and stay with the love of his life, the pony she was now watching sleep.

Both she and her sister, Celestia, princess of the sun, had received an urgent letter from Twilight Sparkle saying she needed their assistance in a matter concerning the human and another hateful pony by the name of Filthy Rich. The princesses were both well aware of the situation with Josh in Ponyville, from Filthy's newfound crusade against him, to his imprisonment, and everything in between. Though initially they believed that the issue would handle itself and ponies would never see Josh the way Filthy does, the two alicorns finally resolved that the situation was more than out of hoof now, and must be dealt with as soon as possible. The sisters showed up at the trial when the time finally came for it at the behest of Twilight, and helped defend the wrongly persecuted human. After all, what better defense could Josh have than the rulers of Equestria themselves?

However, neither of them expected Filthy Rich to be able to rile up the crowd like that against one innocent individual. Luna was so flustered and so caught off guard by what was happening that she barely had time to talk her sister out of her actions before she used her magic to send the human back home to earth and thus cause an incredible amount of heartache for his friends and lover. Immediately after Celestia sent Josh back home, she rushed out of the room and headed for her chariot, tears trailing down her face. Luna followed close behind, barely able to comprehend what she had just seen. Just as the ivory alicorn reached her guards, however, she ordered them to take her back home, leaving Luna in Ponyville to help the distraught group of mares back in the courtroom.

And that is how Luna found herself outside Octavia's house, keeping watch over Vinyl as she cried and dealt with the reality of her new, lonely existence. Not once had the night princess left her spot, simply choosing to keep an eye on the emotionally disturbed unicorn so she didn't attempt anything drastic.

"I'm so sorry, Vinyl." she said quietly, the guilt in her heart increasing one thousandfold as she watched the uneasily sleeping mare.

Before too long, she noticed the sun's continued rise and felt it was time to return to Canterlot at last to rest for the day. Making sure Vinyl was still asleep, she sent away the cloud she had been resting on and made the short flight back to the golden city of Canterlot and its royal castle. Alighting atop one of the balconies nearest the throne room, she made her way inside the giant gilded doors and immediately saw her sister sitting at the head of the room on her magnificent throne. The regal mare had her head hung low in sadness and her eyes were closed. Luna approached as carefully as she could, knowing full well that Celestia hadn't slept well that night.

"I see you managed to raise the sun for the day." she stated as she finally approached her solar sibling, "And on only a few hours of sleep too."

Celestia didn't respond at first, instead just continuing to sit there in sadness. Luna looked at her sister with a deeply concerned face and prepared to try and say something to try and liven up her mood somehow. She was cut off right as she opened her mouth.

"How is she?" asked the ivory alicorn, raising her head and opening her eyes as her sister closed her mouth once more.

"She's... well, I knew she'd be fairly distraught, and I'd worried that she may do something horrible..." replied Luna, trailing off a little, "But she's safe, at least."

Celestia said nothing to that, not even making a gesture to acknowledge her sister's words. She merely sighed and lowered her head again, closing her eyes as she did so. Luna looked at her unbelievably depressed sibling for some time after that, unable to find any words that could possibly help the situation. She'd not seen Celestia like this since the last of their closest friends died thousands of years ago. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Luna finally spoke, drawing Celestia's attention back.

"Tia, I have to know why. Why did you do this? Did you even-"

"Please, Luna. I don't want to talk about it right now..." replied Celestia, still with her head down and a somber look on her face.

"I just need to know." said Luna firmly, "You know you can't avoid discussing this forever."

"I'm well aware, Luna," Tia replied weakly, unable to keep a slight hint of annoyance out of her voice, "but now's not a good time."

"It's as good a time as any, sister."

At those words, Celestia's head shot up, surprising Luna with her movement and the glare that she was giving her. The dark princess actually backed away from her sister in fear as Celestia looked towards her with angry tears in her eyes.

"What is your bucking issue, Luna?!" she spat at her indigo sister, actually raising off her throne and approaching the mare, "Do you think I wanted to do that, that I wanted to tear apart two individuals who were so deeply in love?! Are you somehow convinced in your little head that I found any sort of sick pleasure in that?!"

Luna continued to back away as Celestia advanced on her, the anger never leaving her stare as she did so.

"Well, I didn't! But what was I supposed to do?" she shouted as Luna crouched low, her ears pressed against her skull as she looked to her angry sister, "I had no choice! It was either I send him home where he can be safe, or I leave him here and force him to face the rage of the ponies in that room!"

Celestia's enraged voice began to falter and shake as sadness overwhelmed her regal form once more. Eventually, she heaved and collapsed to the ground, tears of absolute frustration she'd been fighting back flowing fast and free from her violet eyes. No longer able to contain herself, the alabaster mare collapsed to the ground and began to sob openly. Luna rose slowly and watched her normally composed and poised sister lose herself right there in front of her.

"I d-didn't w-wanna do it!" wailed Celestia from her position on the ground, "I'm s-so sorry to them b-both... I'm a f-failure..."

"How could you possibly be a failure, Tia?" asked Luna, approaching her sister's sad form and gently rubbing her back, "You brought together two individuals and allowed them to fall madly in love with one another."

"I c-couldn't protect them..." said Celestia, sniffling a little before continuing, "And what's worse, I allowed such hatred and intolerance to manifest itself in my own kingdom. I could have stopped it the whole time and d-done my duty, but I failed..."

"No kingdom's perfect, Tia." said Luna gently, leaning down to look her sister in the eyes, "You know that better than anypony."

"I know, Luna. But to have this happen in a world where we hold love and tolerance in the highest degree..."

"It is... extremely unfortunate..." admitted Luna.

Without warning, Celestia stood once more and walked unsteadily towards a nearby window, staring out of it at the slowly rising sun she had placed in the sky only hours previously.

"Filthy Rich did more than just shame us yesterday, sister." said Celestia, not taking her eyes off the glowing orb in the sky, "He showed me just how far we fell in our duties as the rulers and protectors of this land. Not only could we not save Josh from this in time, but we've also let the horrible ideals of Filthy Rich spread throughout Ponyville."

"You could have protected him." said Luna simply, joining her sister once more at the window, "Just send him to another place in Equestria so that Vinyl and his friends could find him again and cast a spell to protect them."

"If his friends can find him, so can Filthy, whether I cast a spell or not." replied Celestia solemnly, "This whole thing would just happen all over again, and that's the last thing we'd need."

Luna opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the words she needed. After some time of struggling to find her tongue, she finally relented and gazed out the window along with her sister.

"What're we gonna do now then?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the scenery before her.

"We keep an eye on them both and pray that one day, everything can be alright."

With that, Celestia turned and returned to her throne, not saying another word. Luna simply stood and watched her for awhile before determining she wouldn't get anything more from the sun princess. She decided to retire for the day as normal and slowly made her way down the hall towards her darkened, lunar themed room. After removing her normal royal regalia, she climbed into her large, violet star-spangled bed and prayed a silent prayer for the human and pony, hoping deep down that somehow, in some way, everything would be alright.


	2. Chapter 2: Grief

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

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Chapter 2: Grief

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 2: Grief

Josh spluttered as sand hit him in the face from Vinyl's sudden dash towards the lake. Opening his eyes, he saw the cream colored unicorn already in the water, wading out so her hooves no longer touched the bottom. The human stood and called out to her as he removed his shirt and belongings from his pockets.

"No fair!" he called out as she smiled back at him from her position in the water, "You surprised me!"

"Poor sport!" she yelled back, flipping over and doing a backstroke.

Josh spotted a small tire swing hanging from a nearby tree and headed for it as fast as he could. Upon reaching it, he placed one foot carefully in the small rubber wheel and spotted his unicorn friend wading nearby. Taking precise aim, he stepped back and swung as far as he could in her direction, yelling, "GERONIMO!" all the way. He landed right next to her and his vision was immediately obscured by bubbles in the murky blue water. With a surprising amount of speed, he shot to the surface and looked all around for Vinyl, thinking that maybe she'd submerged herself to avoid his huge splash.

"Vinyl!" he called out, spinning all around and searching for a cream colored hoof or hint of blue mane sticking out of the water.

However, as he continued to look all around, he saw no such sign that would indicate the presence of the mare. Sure she was playing some sort of trick on him, he began to laugh loudly and spin all around again.

"Come on, Vinyl." he said, continuing to look all around for her, "If you think you're gonna trick me, you can forget about it!"

Josh looked all around again, searching the water for his friend. Still no sign of Vinyl. Panic began to set in as he realized she was nowhere to be found. Diving under the small swells, Josh searched through his blurry vision all over for any sign of Vinyl. After several seconds, he was able to see a cream colored splotch drifting towards the bottom of the lake. Josh let out an inaudible yelp before surfacing.

"Vinyl!" he shouted before taking in a deep breath and going back under, intent on rescuing the mare.

Josh swam towards her form as fast as his muscles would allow, not once taking his eyes off the slowly descending unicorn. His lungs began to protest as he swam harder and faster towards her, but he ignored them. Nothing mattered but saving Vinyl now, and he'd die before he allowed her to drown. Slowly, steadily, he was getting closer and closer to her, to where he could almost reach out and grab her hoof.

However, as he stretched his arm to take hold of her limp foreleg and pull her close to himself, he felt himself being forced upwards at an alarmingly rapid pace. He tried to force himself back down towards Vinyl, but it was to no avail. The mare's blurred form was quickly becoming obscured as Josh rose higher and higher till she finally was lost to the surrounding darkness. Josh screamed once more, now fighting harder than ever to escape the force that was making him rise more and more. Eventually, he felt himself break the surface of the water and was thrown hard back onto the shore of the deceivingly peaceful lake.

"NO! VINYL!" he shouted, getting back up and sprinting towards the water once more, praying he could still get to the mare in time.

As he ran, the ground in front of him gave way and he fell into a gigantic hole that was threatening to suck him into an unforgiving darkness. He tried with all his might to pull himself out, but it was a vain effort, as soon he lost his grip and was being forced down into the shadowy abyss, unable to see or feel anything around his body. He was simply descending into an empty blackness. After a few seconds, he was deposited onto a cold, hard surface, much like smooth concrete. Right as he landed, a light shone before him from the ceiling, illuminating a pale figure with its head hanging and looked as if it had recently gotten out of a body of water.

"Where am I?" asked Josh, finding he could finally stand once more and get a better look at his surroundings.

"Why did you leave?" asked the now identified female figure before his eyes.

This statement forced Josh's attention back to creature. It was a pony, he knew that for sure, but he wasn't entirely certain who it could be.

"What did you say?" he asked, not moving from his place.

"Why did you leave me, Josh?" she asked, raising her head and looking to the human who stumbled backwards in fear as he recognized the lifeless mare.

It was Vinyl, but not the Vinyl the Josh had seen mere moments ago. Her usually shaggy blue mane and tail hung loose and lifeless on her white body, and seemed to be drained of their two-toned color. Her eyes were no longer their beautiful crimson-magenta hue, but instead were dull and gray.

"You said you'd never leave me again, Josh." she calmly said as Josh gasped upon seeing her morose visage, "You promised me..."

"I... I didn't want to leave, Vinyl!" said Josh, rushing forward to console his mare, "You know I'd never willingly leave you!"

"But you're gone..." she said, looking deep into his blue orbs, "I... I need you here."

"I'm here now, baby," said Josh, cupping her chin and smiling wide at her, tears falling from his eyes, "I promise that I'll never ever leave you again. I love you, Vinyl."

Vinyl smiled at him slightly, a tear falling from her own gray eye. At first, Josh thought the droplet was just a little discolored, but he soon realized that it was blood. The human let her chin go and jumped back as the grotesque red fluid flowed from both of her eyes, making her face go from white to crimson in no time at all. Vinyl's small smile disappeared almost instantly as she saw her coltfriend jump away in fear.

"W-what's the matter, Joshie?" she asked, advancing towards him slowly as blood continued to pour from her gray orbs, "D-don't you love me anymore?"

Josh didn't answer as she stared at him, her eyes still pouring blood. It soon began to pool below her hooves and head, and even seemed to be covering her white body.

"You never really loved me at all, did you?!" she shrieked at him, her voice becoming distorted and dark as she advanced towards him even more, "You were just pretending to love me all this time!"

"V-Vinyl, no!" shouted Josh, still unable to believe what he was seeing, "Of course I loved you! I'll always love you, and I promise I'm coming back for you!"

"It's too late for that, Josh." she said, the blood from her eyes now engulfing her body and making her coat shine a glossy red color, "You've failed, and I can never forgive you for this!"

Josh shouted in protest, but the sound of his cry was muffled by the cacophony behind him as a giant crimson wave approached. The human never even saw it as it barreled at himself and the enraged, blood covered mare before him. In an instant, it slammed into his form, crushing him under its oppressive weight.

Josh awoke with a start, shooting up in bed. His heart was racing at an unbelievable pace as he sat there. A cold sweat covered his form, causing him to shiver violently. The horrifying image of Vinyl covered in blood still lingered in his troubled mind along with her final haunting words.

"_You've failed, and I can never forgive you for this!_"

Josh felt tears well up in his blue eyes as the echo of his marefriend's voice continued to ring in his mind, and he heaved violently. Laying back down on the bed, he curled up and began to sob once more. In his mind, he really had failed her, and now he was all alone, without anyone to love or to love him back. The world around him had come crashing down the day before, and he was overcome with grief once more as the image of Vinyl still plagued his troubled mind.

Octavia reluctantly awoke as the light from Celestia's sun entered her bedroom, assaulting her eyelids and forcing her back to consciousness. The gray mare had barely managed more than three hours of sleep that night as her mind was plagued by nothing but worry for her best friend as well as Josh, who she could only imagine was as sad and lonely as the mare he loved most. Any time she was finally able to sleep, the human's distraught voice and Vinyl's heavy sobs over the loss of her coltfriend entered her dreams and forced her mind to race, thus inhibiting her ability to get any sort of rest.

The cellist's thoughts were still on the separated couple at this moment, mostly on Vinyl and her current emotional state. The unicorn had always been emotional in the entire time Tavi had known her, more often losing stability when upset than overreacting when happy. When Josh was sent to jail for assaulting Filthy Rich, she had a horrible emotional breakdown and refused to talk or listen to anypony for a few days. She eventually recovered and went to visit him during his incarceration, but she still always told Octavia how much she missed her lover.

Now, however, the situation was completely different. Josh wasn't just down the street, simply waiting for a visit from his marefriend or somepony else he was close to. He was in a completely different world, and more than likely could never return to Equestria. Tavi worried if Vinyl would ever recover from losing somepony she had built up such a powerful connection to. _It'll be hard, and not instantaneous_ thought the mare, feeling a lump form in her throat as her mind returned to dwell on the depressing situation at hoof.

Realizing she couldn't just lay there all day, (much as she might want to) Octavia finally threw the covers off herself and rolled out of bed. She headed immediately for the bathroom, glancing at herself in the mirror and sighing deeply at her own visage.

"By Celestia, I look awful." she noted, giving herself a quick once over.

Her normally tidy jet black mane was disheveled beyond all belief, random hairs sticking out all over and in every possible way. The gray fur on her face was matted from all the tears she had cried the day and night before, and her violet eyes were swollen and bloodshot. She prodded the bags underneath her orbs with a hoof, letting out yet another disgruntled sigh.

"I can only imagine how Vinyl is right now..." she murmured, grabbing a nearby hairbrush and running it through her tangled mane.

The cellist performed her morning routine slowly and in absolute silence, save for the sounds of the shower and sink when she utilized them. Instead of placing her usual pink bowtie around her neck, she opted to wrap herself in a plush salmon colored bathrobe. Upon finishing her usual procedure, she headed down the hall to check on Vinyl, praying that the unicorn would be at least somewhat receptive now.

"Vinyl, dear," she said timidly, knocking gently on the mare's bedroom door, "can I come in?"

Silence answered Octavia, a response the cellist was fully expecting.

"Please, Vinyl." she said, pressing her head against the door before her, "Please let me in..."

Again, silence. Tavi was about to knock once more and continue her pleading when the door swung open by Vinyl's magic. The gray cellist stepped into her friend's room, looking to the cream colored unicorn laying on her bed with her back to felt her heart drop a little as her gaze centered on the mare before her.

Cautiously, she walked over to the bed and sat next to her friend, watching the gentle rise and fall of her body as she breathed. Uncomfortable silence fell between them both as neither knew what to say, nor did they wish to speak at all. After some time of heavy silence, Octavia reached out a gray hoof and placed it on Vinyl's side, causing the unicorn to curl up a little tighter. However, she made no effort to resist Tavi's touch.

The gray mare gently stroked her friend's side, praying that Vinyl was somehow being comforted by her actions. Octavia's careful attention persisted for some time in silence till Vinyl at last rolled over and looked to her grey friend, her eyes swollen and red and the fur on her face heavily matted.

"T-Tavi..." she stammered, looking deep into Octavia's purple eyes, "I d-don't f-feel..."

Suddenly, Vinyl bolted upright and vomited all over the bed. Instinctively, Octavia jumped off and away from the pool of sick that now covered the sheets. She looked to Vinyl, who peered back at her friend with eyes full of tears.

"I-I'm s-sorry Tavi..." said the poor unicorn, sniffling as her voice began to violently shake, "I m-made a mess."

Octavia instantaneously felt bad for her sudden reaction as her friend broke down in front of her, covering her eyes with her hooves.

"Oh dear," she said, rushing over to the other side of the bed and reaching up to hug the distraught unicorn, "it's alright, Vinyl. It's not your fault."

Vinyl's only response was to slide off the bed and into Tavi's open forelegs, sobbing heavily into the gray earth pony's shoulder. Octavia gently rubbed her back as Vinyl continued to bawl, staining the cellist's fur with her tears. After some time, she began to calm down a little and Tavi helped her to her hooves.

"Vinyl," said the gray mare, wiping a few stray tears from her friend's face with a hoof, "I'll take care of this, okay? Just go into the bathroom in case you need to throw up again. I'll be in there once I'm done here."

Vinyl sniffled and nodded, unsteadily making her way down the hall and into the bathroom next to Tavi's room. Once Octavia saw Vinyl make her way into the lavatory safely, she turned back to the vomit covered bedspread. Sighing, she began to slowly remove the coverlet and both sets of sheets, trying her best to not spill any of the sick on the wooden floor. Just as she'd removed the last corner and was preparing to take the whole ball of fabric off the mattress to be cleaned, a knock sounded at the front door.

"Who the bloody hell could that be?!" she frustratedly yelled, abandoning her initial task and storming down the stairs angrily.

The mare reached the ground floor and headed for the main entryway, ready to throw it open and give the solicitor a piece of her mind.

"What do you..." she paused upon opening the door and seeing who was standing there.

The "trespasser" was a gray pegasus mare with a long blonde mane and tail. She looked back to Octavia with both golden eyes askew and full of concern.

"Hello, Derpy." said Octavia, her rage dying down as she recognized the gray mailmare.

"H-hey Tavi..." said Derpy, her voice apprehensive and her ears pinned back as she stood before the gray cellist.

"What can I do for you?" asked Octavia as politely as she could muster.

"I've got some mail for you." replied the mailmare, reaching into her saddlebags and brandishing several envelopes in her teeth.

"Thank you." said Octavia simply, taking the mail with her free hoof and sitting on her haunches to look at the envelopes.

Several moments of silence passed between both mares as Tavi examined her mail and Derpy merely stood there on the cellist's front doorstep, unsure of herself.

"H-how's she doing?" the mailmare finally asked, causing Tavi to return her attention to the pegasus before her.

"Not well..." said Tavi, sighing as she turned to place her mail on the entryway table before returning to Derpy, "The poor dear's so distraught, she actually made herself sick this morning."

"I can't even begin to know what it's like for her right now." said Derpy, looking down in contemplation, "To lose the love of your life..."

"Have you told Dinky about what happened?" asked Octavia, forcing Derpy's wall eyed attention back to the cellist.

"Yeah, I did." she replied simply, "She was pretty upset. She really liked him. All the foals seemed to like him."

"I shudder to think what Sweetie Belle must be feeling now that he's gone." said Octavia, trying her best to not imagine the poor unicorn filly's reaction to hearing her best friend was now gone.

"I didn't even think of her till just now..." said Derpy, her ears falling once more, "If there was ever a filly he loved most it was her. The poor thing must be devastated."

Once again, silence fell between the two ponies as their minds were flooded by thoughts of the human and all the lives he touched while in Equestria. Tavi thought back to when she'd first run across Josh, how she'd rushed into Rarity's home and simply punched him in the face. An involuntary chuckle escaped her throat at the memory.

"You know, it's funny." she said, still envisioning her initial encounter with the human, "When he first came here, I thought he'd be nothing but a pain in my arse. But... he ended up being so sweet to Vinyl..."

Octavia felt a lump form in her throat and tears well up in her eyes.

"He loved her s-so much." she said, her voice shaking as tears began to trail from her violet eyes, "He loved us all... Oh, Derpy... I just don't know what went wrong..."

Tavi placed her hooves over her eyes as she cried, unbelievable sadness overtaking her mind once again as thoughts of Josh and Vinyl circulated. As she cried, the cellist felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Derpy looking back at her, her discombobulated eyes watery like Tavi's own.

"If there's one thing I know about Josh, it's that he loves us all too much to stay away forever." stated the mailmare, a small smile forming on her face as a tear streaked down her cheek, "He'll find some way to come back. I'd bet my life on that."

Tavi stared back at the gray pegasus' good eye, seeing a genuine glimmer of hope that she hadn't seen in what seemed like forever. She returned the mare's smile, wiping a tear from her own face.

"I hope he does, Derpy." she stated, standing back up as the mailmare removed her hoof from Octavia's shoulder, "I sincerely hope he does."

The pegasus nodded gently before looking back to her saddlebags full of mail.

"Well, I've gotta get going." she said, turning and preparing to depart, "I need to finish up my rounds."

"Derpy?" Tavi said, forcing Derpy to look back to her.

"Yeah, Tavi?"

"Thank you so much for supporting them through all this. It means more than words can ever say."

Derpy smiled back at the cellist.

"Not a problem."

With that, Octavia said farewell to Derpy before the gray pegasus departed, heading directly for central Ponyville. Turning around, Tavi closed the door and headed back up the stairs, intent on finishing her task of cleaning off Vinyl's bed. As she reached the top floor and was about to head back to Vinyl's room, the cellist heard a muffled sound from the far end of the hall and immediately headed for the bathroom to check on her friend. Upon opening the door, she saw the mare laying on her belly on the ground, crying heavily.

"Vinyl..." said Tavi gently, laying down next to her friend and placing her right foreleg on her back to console the unicorn.

"T-Tavi..." wailed Vinyl, glancing at the gray mare, tears streaming from her crimson magenta eyes, "I... I m-miss him s-so much! I w-want my Joshie back!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Vinyl heaved violently and continued to sob. Octavia found herself unable to resist and soon, tears began to flow from her own eyes for the second time that morning. She reached out her other foreleg and pulled Vinyl in for a tight hug, both crying into one another's fur.

"I miss him too, Vinyl." she said, her own voice shaking heavily as she wept along with the cream colored mare, "But I know that wherever he is out there, he still loves us and that's never ever ever going to change."

Together, the two mares sat there, holding one another and openly weeping for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few weeks. Josh's absence had opened up a gaping hole in the hearts of both ponies, along with the rest of his close friends. All anypony could do was hope that all would be as it should be and that both human and pony could be together and happy once more.


	3. Chapter 3: Difficulties

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 3: Difficulties

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 3: Difficulties

Josh sat on the large bed in Otis and Martha's guest room, staring out the window to the expansive fields of the farm, the haunting images of his nightmares still circulating in his mind from the previous night. Ever since he'd had that horrendous dream about Vinyl being covered in her own blood and screaming at him, telling him he was too late and that he'd failed, he couldn't get back to sleep, so instead opted to merely sit there, ruminating on his own sadness and loss. The young man had hoped silently that the events that had transpired the previous day were nothing more than a continuation of his nightmares, and he would awake once again in Equestria, laying next to his cream colored mare who he loved so much. He had hoped it, but sadly, the realization had completely dawned on him that his situation was not one that could be remedied by a simple mute prayer for a dream.

His soul seemed like nothing more than a mere husk of its former self. The stoic expression on his face belied the true nature of what he was experiencing inside, the insane torrent of sadness and anger that threatened to overtake his mind and mercilessly decimate his already strained emotions.

"Josh?" called a kind and gentle female voice through the haze clouding Josh's senses, "Are you feeling any better, dear?"

Slowly, the young man returned to the harsh reality he was forced to endure at the moment. However, he remained still and silent, not making any sort of move to acknowledge Martha standing behind him. Her distant voice soon became more pronounced as Josh's subconscious released him from its cold grip. He heard the door creak slightly as the elderly woman made her way inside the room, not taking her eyes off the young man on the opposite edge of the bed who had his back to her.

"How about you come on into the kitchen and I'll make you some breakfast," Martha gently said, walking over to stand next to Josh as he sat on the bed, "I can't imagine you've eaten recently, and some food may help you feel better."

Josh glanced up at the old woman for a second, glaring daggers at her as she looked upon him. She grew a concerned look on her own face as Josh's glare hit

her full force. The young man looked back to the widow quickly, fighting the urge to scream at the kind old soul standing before him. How could she possibly know what would make him feel better? The only thing that had any hope of lifting his heavily downcast spirits would be to return to his home and see Vinyl again...

"Josh..." said Martha quietly, taking a seat next to the producer on the bed, "I... I don't know what you've been through, and I won't pretend to. But, it isn't healthy to just sit here and be miserable forever. Can you please talk to me and at least explain what brought you here?"

Josh didn't respond, but didn't glare at Martha again either. He merely sat there, staring out the window, but not truly seeing what lay beyond the clear glass. Image after image flashed through his mind from the past year of his life with Vinyl and his friends in Equestria. Moving out of Rarity's house and into his own home with Vinyl, going camping with Sweetie Belle and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, his first "Hearts and Hooves Day" with Vinyl...

"You mentioned a girl last time you were here." said Martha, interrupting Josh's nostalgic reverie, "What ever happened? Did you go back to her?"

Josh subconsciously found himself nodding in response to Martha's question. The images of his mare and all his other friends continued to force themselves through his head, causing a lump to form in his throat. Still, however, he choked back his tears, trying to maintain his resigned demeanor at all costs.

"Were you happy?"

Again, Josh unintentionally nodded.

"Did... Did you... love her?"

"I... I still do..."

Martha almost jumped as he spoke for the first time since he'd passed out last night. She looked to him to see his expression still hadn't changed.

"What was her name? Was it Vinyl?"

Another nod.

"What happened?"

Josh's mind raced even more now, trying to decide whether to speak or not, to tell this old woman the truth and force him to relive the memories of his love and loss, or to keep it inside and bottled up to fester in his soul.

"I... went back... to be with her." he said, still not turning his gaze from the glass pane in front of his face, "It was... incredible. We were so happy... Able to

travel all over and perform together... She... meant the world to me..."

"It sounds like you were living quite the dream." exclaimed Martha, smiling at Josh.

"The best dream anyone could ever ask for." Josh responded, grinning slightly himself.

The small smile dropped quickly as memories from the last few weeks flooded his hectic mind, reminding him of his incarceration and the horrible, crushing loneliness that came with that as well. Filthy Rich's smug face permeated his head, forcing him to become enraged. Then, he saw Vinyl and his friends all trying to stop the princesses from sending him back home...

"But... then... I... I could've stopped him... I could've put an end to it all before it even began..." he said, his voice beginning to shake as tears were forcing their way out of his eyes.

"What?" asked Martha, suddenly confused by Josh's change in tone and demeanor.

"It's all my fault that we're both alone now..." he said, not responding to Martha's previous query, "I... I failed to protect her... to stop this insanity before it got

too bad... I..."

He could hold it back no more. With one final, sudden heave, Josh began to cry again, tears that he thought he'd completely used up throughout the night falling freely from his eyes and hitting the wooden floorboards.

"Josh..." said Martha softly, wrapping her old hands around the young man and holding him as he broke out into sobs.

"I... I j-just w-wanna go home!" he exclaimed, returning her embrace, "I just wanna b-be with her again! I can't live without her in my life. I l-love her so much..."

Martha gently rubbed Josh's back as the distraught young man continued to profess his love for Vinyl and his regrets over not being able to protect her. A horrible emptiness pervaded his heart and mind as he sobbed. He'd said all the time to Vinyl and the others that everything would be alright, but now, he wasn't so sure that the promise he'd made could ever be fulfilled.

Josh made his way out of Otis and Martha's guest room for what he was hoping would be the last time. Though most of his time had been spent in absolute emotional anguish, he was still unbelievably grateful to the couple for allowing him to remain on their property, no questions asked. Now, however, he was ready to move on, and avoid being any more of a burden to the two than he already had been. *Thank God I don't have much to pack* he thought as he looked all around for anything he'd need before he left.

He had been back on earth for a week now, staying in the cozy little room so graciously provided by the old couple whose farm he had landed on... again. He hadn't really spoken to either of them that much in his time there, only really saying anything if they asked him a question. He hadn't told either of them the whole truth behind what had happened, that he'd lived in a bright, colorful world filled with magical, talking ponies and that the "girl" he'd fallen in love with was a unicorn herself. It wasn't paranoia for their inevitable reaction of disbelief that prevented him from explaining the whole thing, but was instead was his own wanting to avoid dwelling on the heavy thoughts too much himself and risk losing control of his emotions and sanity.

The young man had done much soul searching in the last week alone, beginning the rather unpleasant task of reevaluating what he was supposed to do now. The realization that he was far away from Vinyl and his friends had finally settled in his mind and, though he was still saddened by the harsh reality that he may never see them again, he had begun to accept it. That didn't stop his heart from sinking lower and lower every time he thought of the life he left back in Equestria, but he felt he was able to move on in some capacity, which was just what he was doing now, preparing to leave this little farmhouse and head off to Los Angeles, where he would try and find work for himself.

He spotted his possessions on the bedside table and grabbed them, placing his iPod and wallet in their respective pockets before making his way out the door and down the hall. He'd risen very early that morning in preparation to leave this place and make his way west. A thick mist hung over the fields outside, somewhat obscuring his view of the tops of the wheat in the distance. The rays of light from the rising sun hit the fog and illuminated it, painting the entire field a brilliant shade of gold. Josh stopped for a second at the door to the farmhouse, admiring the beauty of the scene before his eyes.

The young producer, having enjoyed the scene enough, reached out for the handle to the door, opening it and stepping out into the brisk, morning air..

"Mornin' Josh."

Josh nearly jumped out of his skin as the voice spoke and startled him. He spun around quickly to see Otis sitting in a wooden rocking chair next to the door, simply staring at Josh.

"How long have you been sitting there?" asked the stunned young man, his rapid heart rate beginning to slow down.

"For a little while now." replied the old man, not taking his eyes off Josh standing near the door, "Would you like to explain to me why you're up this early too?"

Josh hesitated for a second, not sure what to say to the farmer. If not for Otis, Josh most likely wouldn't have ever realized just how wrong he was to leave Vinyl in the first place. When the young producer had landed here a year ago after departing from Equestria, Otis had reminded him that if Josh wasn't worthy of the mare's love that she most likely wouldn't have ever fallen in love with him to begin with. Those words were all Josh had needed to hear to convince him that leaving was a huge mistake and that he truly did deserve Vinyl's companionship just as much as she deserved his.

"I... was going to go for a walk." said Josh, hoping with all his might that Otis would believe the lie, "Figured I've been cooped up in here long enough. May as well get out early and stretch my legs."

Otis raised an eyebrow at Josh's statement. The young producer's heart dropped a little as he realized there wouldn't be a way for him to skate around this issue.

"Josh, I wasn't born yesterday." said Otis, looking deeply into Josh's blue eyes, "Going for a walk's the last thing I think you'd be doing right now, especially this early in the morning."

Josh just stared at Otis as the old farmer's skeptical gaze continued to be on him. This was what he had been most afraid of as he'd planned to leave, that one of the kind old couple would try and stop him from leaving. He tried his best to keep his expression straightforward and serious, but found himself beginning to wither under the look Otis was giving him.

"What's really going on here, Josh?" asked Otis, gesturing to the chair next to his own.

"I... I didn't want to... bother you two with this." said Josh, not moving from his place in front of the door, "With everything that's happened lately, me showing up here again, taking advantage of you guys for a week... I just... I wanted this to be simple..."

"What exactly do you mean?" asked Otis, raising his eyebrow once again.

"I was... going to leave." said Josh, lowering his head at knowing he'd been found out, "Head back to LA. I've got a friend there who can help me out. I was hoping you two wouldn't catch me leaving... and try to stop me."

Otis simply continued to stare at Josh, leaving an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. The young producer looked up to see Otis's tired, aged eyes locked on his own. The green orbs seemed to pierce Josh's being, looking deep inside to the troubled spirit that dwelled within. As his gaze met Otis's, he felt a lump form in his throat.

"Otis..." he said, his voice beginning to shake as he spoke to the old man, "I... I can never go home. I can never see my friends or Vinyl ever again. I... I'm lost, in a place I don't belong anymore, all alone. If I don't move now... I'll just be stuck here wallowing in my own misery till I waste away. I... can't do that. It's not what she'd want. I know it..."

Josh felt his legs become weak as tears threatened to flow from his eyes once again. He crouched down, placing his hand over his eyes to shield Otis from seeing him cry. He knew the truth of it all, that his wish to move was nothing more than a futile attempt to try and suppress the depressing reality around him. However, that's all he knew how to do, to force the pain and anger into the deep recesses of his subconscious to simply fester. As he felt the first few drops prepare to leave his eyes, he felt a strong but comforting hand place itself on his shoulder.

Josh looked up with his watery blue orbs and saw Otis, smiling warmly down at him. The old man's eyes again looked deep into Josh's soul, clearly seeing all the pain and torment it was experiencing within.

"Josh," he said gently, his smile never faltering, "you have no idea how strong you really are, how strong you've been, throughout this entire ordeal."

The producer had to suppress a laugh at that.

"I'm far from strong." he replied, looking back down from Otis's gaze, "All I've done this week is mope around, knowing that it won't do a goddamn thing to help me at all."

"Do you have any idea how many people would've just shut down over something like this?" asked Otis, "Most would've just continued to sit and allow themselves to waste away over their pain, but not you. You've lost it all, it seems, and yet you still forge ahead, still try your best to move on and make something out of nothing. That's strength right there."

Josh pondered his words as Otis continued to speak.

"Last time you were here, I said you were a guilty man, that you had a lotta ghosts in your past. But I also said that you're sorry for those ghosts. I can see it in your eyes. You've tried everything you can to fix the mistakes you've made in your life and done even more to ensure you don't make them again. There's not a lot of men out there like you, those who're not only willing to learn from their past, but to also apply the lessons they take away."

Josh looked back up to the Otis, seeing that same, warm, comforting smile.

"I'll never understand how you got here, what happened to get you here, or even why you're here." said Otis, "But, I do understand that you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and there's absolutely no way that myself or even Martha would stand in your way."

Josh returned Otis's smile, standing up and wiping a tear from his eye. Upon Josh getting to his feet, Otis placed his other hand on the young man's shoulder so that he was holding both of them and standing directly in front of his tall form.

"And as for Vinyl, you remember what I asked you when you were here, when you said that you didn't deserve her?"

"Y-yeah. You asked me... if she loved me. Unconditionally."

"And you said yes, did you not?"

Josh nodded in affirmation.

"Then, let me ask you one more question: do you love her unconditionally?"

"She's... my whole world." replied Josh, speaking as authoritatively as he possibly could at that moment, "I've got nothing but love for her."

"Then I can promise you that no matter what you or anyone else may think or say, there's not a damn thing that can stop you two from being together again." said Otis, gently squeezing Josh's shoulders, "Love is one of the strongest forces there is in this world. It can break the strongest of barriers and repair even the most broken hearts. If you two well and truly love one another unconditionally, then nothing will keep you apart for long."

Josh smiled even wider. _Otis, you always know just what to say, don't you?_ he thought. Otis pulled Josh in for a quick hug before backing off, still smiling wide at the now empowered young man before him.

"Now, as for you leavin'..."

Josh flinched a little, hoping that Otis wouldn't try and hold him back.

"I'll get out some cash for you and take you to KCI this afternoon." said Otis, making for the door and opening it up, "We'll get you a ticket to LA as soon as possible. But, you gotta let me and Martha see you off, alright?"

Josh smiled and nodded as Otis looked back to him. The old man nodded his approval and headed back inside, making his way towards the little kitchen, Josh in tow. Together, the two talked and enjoyed one another's company, knowing, but not hoping, that this would be one of the last times they'd see one another.


	4. Chapter 4: Ignorance

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 4: Ignorance

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 4: Ignorance

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all sat in their tree clubhouse on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres, the earth pony and pegasus engrossed in conversation as Sweetie sat in absolute silence. The three fillies, for the last week, had been unable to think about anything but what happened to Josh. The human had touched each of the little ponies' lives, whether it was by offering them much needed and sage advice, or just taking time out of his day to play with them. His leaving broke each one of their tiny hearts, but the little white unicorn filly felt the hurt worse than either Apple Bloom or Scootaloo.

Josh had loved them all very much, but Sweetie was without a doubt his favorite little filly. He would visit her daily, playing with her, helping her with any sort of problem she may have encountered, or simply being there to hold her and give her all his affection. When Rarity had told her what had happened and that her human friend most likely wouldn't be able to return, Sweetie couldn't believe it. Josh had left once before, but came back in the end because he loved all his friends so much and didn't want to live his life without them. Sweetie Belle just figured he'd be back as soon as he could, as lively and caring as ever, to continue his life in Equestria.

However, when he still wasn't back by the next day, the little unicorn filly began to lose hope and had a catastrophic emotional breakdown, saying it wasn't fair and that she just wanted her Joshie back to show her the affection she'd grown so accustomed to. She stopped caring about her school work and even about crusading with her friends. Losing her best friend so suddenly without any idea if he'd ever return had been more than just a shock. It had shaken her to the core and caused her emotions to spiral out of control, eventually crashing and burning, leaving her a husk of her former happy, vibrant self.

"Ah just don't understand how anypony could do a thing like that to somepony so innocent." said Apple Bloom, voicing the same exact thing that had been said so many times by those closest to Josh, "Even if he is different, that's no reason to go and be so mean to him!"

"It doesn't help that Diamond Tiara's gonna run with this whole thing, too." commented Scootaloo, a heavy look of disdain passing over her orange face at the thought of their stuck up, pink rival. "After all, it was her dad that got him kicked out of here."

"Well, Ah know that Miss Cheerilee liked Josh, and so did a lot of other ponies at school, so Ah'm pretty sure she won't have much support there." commented Apple Bloom.

A momentary silence fell over the room as each of the fillies thought about Diamond Tiara and how she'd been at school for the last week. All she had done was talk about how her dad had done Ponyville the greatest of favours by having Josh removed. She called her father a patriot, and said on many an occasion that he ought to just be officially put in the position of Mayor of the town. The Crusaders had heard almost every word of her own hateful tirades, and each time Diamond brought it up, it felt like they were being stabbed in the heart.

Scootaloo, out of nowhere, chuckled slightly, causing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to look in her direction.

"You guys remember when he took us all camping that one night?" asked the little pegasus filly, looking between the other two ponies, "That timberwolf came out of nowhere and Josh ran as fast as he could to stop it from eating us?"

"Yeah." replied Apple Bloom, smiling wide as the vision of the tall human tackling the vicious timberwolf to the ground passed through her mind, "He was so brave. If it wasn't for him, we'd have been goners for sure."

"I remember... him helping me to l-learn to f-fly..." said Scootaloo, her voice shaking violently as tears began to fall from her violet eyes, "He... he t-told me I c-could do anything, as long as I tried my hardest... I... Why'd he have to go?"

Scootaloo's little orange form heaved and she sank to the floor, covering her eyes with her hooves, letting her tears flow freely. Apple Bloom pressed her ears against her head and walked over to help console her distraught friend, placing her little yellow foreleg over Scootaloo's back and pulling her in for a tight hug.

"D-don't cry, Scoots..." said the little yellow filly, rubbing her friend's back gently, "W-we all miss him, too... He still loves us... I know he d-does..."

The earth pony and pegasus sat and cried for a short time as Sweetie Belle looked on, not wanting to move or say anything at all. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both had every right to be sad that Josh was gone as well, she knew that, but in this moment... Sweetie knew she was the closest to the human out of the three, had received most of his love and had been his favorite filly. It wasn't any sort of selfishness that put the thought in her mind, but grief and sadness.

"He's... not gonna come back..." said Sweetie softly, only barely audible to the other two crying ponies in the room with her.

"Sweetie Belle!" said Apple Bloom, shooting the unicorn a look of shock, " How can ya' say such a thing? We don't know that!"

"Think about it, Apple Bloom." said Sweetie, again just above a whisper, "If he was going to come back, he already would have. You heard all of them. The princess sent him home because of Filthy. With Filthy still around, there's no way Josh'll be able to come back."

"Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said, removing her foreleg from around Scootaloo and marching up to face her unicorn friend, "You were closer to him than anypony in this room. He loved you with all his heart, and Ah know you loved him, too. How could you say he's not gonna come back to us?"

Sweetie didn't respond to Apple Bloom's statement, instead trying her best to hold back her own angry tirade. Yes, she had loved Josh a lot, and he reciprocated that feeling to her in full. However, all signs were pointing to him never returning to his friends and loved ones ever again. The tiny unicorn turned around and huffed, making her way to the front door.

"Hey! Where're ya goin'?" asked Apple Bloom, trotting along after her friend.

"Home." said Sweetie, her voice beginning to shake as hot tears began to form in her beautiful jade eyes.

Before Apple Bloom or the distraught Scootaloo could protest, Sweetie Belle was out the door and rushing back to Ponyville, hoping beyond all hope that neither of her fellow Crusaders were following her. Once she was clear of the clubhouse, she opened up and allowed herself to cry for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last week. Through her blurred vision and stinging eyes, she managed to navigate her way down the long path back to Ponyville as Celestia's sun disappeared behind a huge set of ominous gray clouds. In only a matter of minutes, she was back in town and had arrived at the front of her sister's boutique, throwing open the door and making her way inside.

"Sweetie?" called Rarity's voice from nearby, rushing out of a separate room in time to see her sister shoot by and head up the stairs to her room.

Sweetie Belle ran inside and slammed the door shut before jumping up onto her bed and fully giving in to her sadness. Burying her face in her pillows, the little filly sobbed openly and hard, partly from the sadness of losing her friend, as well as her last words to Apple Bloom about him not coming back to them. Sweetie had prayed silently every night that her human would return and save her from the horrific emotional torment that was overwhelming her at all times now. However, those prayers seemed to all be nothing more than a vain attempt to force what appeared to be an impossibility.

Looking up from her pillow, she saw something brown and fuzzy out of the corner of her eye and glanced towards it, a flash of memories flooding her little white head upon seeing the object. It was a big stuffed bear he'd given her when she and the other Crusaders had gone to the carnival up in the Crystal Empire. She'd tried so hard to win the ball toss game and earn herself a prize. However, when Josh saw how badly she wanted the big stuffed bear, he happily took over and helped her to get what was rightfully hers. She'd held onto it since that day, always being able to look at it and immediately think of the human she loved so much. Reaching out, she grabbed the large stuffed animal and pulled it close, hugging it as tightly as she could and crying into its fuzzy exterior.

"I m-miss you, Joshie..." she said, conjuring up any memories of the tall human that she possibly could, "I want you t-to come home. Please, let him come home..."

Sweetie Belle lay on her bed for some time, simply continuing to cry, mourning the loss of Josh, and pray for his safety wherever he may be. Eventually, she ceased her crying and simply remained on her bed, too physically and emotionally exhausted to get up and do anything at all. Her eyelids began to grow heavy and the little unicorn felt herself begin to slip into unconsciousness. Her efforts to fight the power of sleep were all in vain, and before she knew it, Sweetie was drifting off to the world of dreams.

However, as she reached the precipice of consciousness, a loud bang sounded from downstairs, causing her little body to jolt upwards in her bed. As quickly as the initial noise had come and gone, Sweetie could hear cacophonous voices from below, voices she soon recognized as her mother and father, Pearl and Magnum, as well as her sister. The three were arguing about something rather loudly, and Sweetie Belle forfeited her sudden sleepiness for piqued curiosity. Silently jumping down from her own bed, she opened the door and cautiously proceeded down the stairs, making sure to stay out of sight of the ponies down below her.

"Rarity, I don't wanna hear any more excuses about this!" said Magnum, his mustache jerking violently as he spoke, "Sweetie's grades have fallen into the gutter, and you've done absolutely nothing to help her!"

"Father, you must understand," said Rarity, trying her absolute best to keep her own voice level, "she's very distraught right now. All of Josh's friends are, including myself."

"That doesn't mean she can just completely abandon her education!" retorted Pearl, also trying to keep her voice at a respectable volume, "Losing him had to be hard, I'd imagine. But, she's still young and doesn't have time to be sitting and moping because she lost a friend so suddenly."

"Mother!" Rarity retorted, unable to hide the shock in her words, "Do you even have any clue what she's going through right now? When was the last time you lost somepony you cared for as much as she cared for Josh?"

"She was too obsessed with that guy to begin with and you know it." said Magnum, "There's absolutely no way he could've been that special to you all, otherwise he wouldn't have left."

"HE DIDN'T LEAVE!"

All three ponies jumped and looked towards the stairs to see Sweetie Belle standing there, her jade eyes filled with rage upon hearing her parents words about Josh.

"Sweetie!" said Rarity, rushing up to her sister, "When did you..."

"Josh didn't leave because he wanted to, Dad!" Sweetie yelled, advancing on her father, "He was forced to by hateful ponies like you who don't have a single bucking clue how special he was!"

"Young lady!" said Pearl, her hoof flying to her mouth as Sweetie spoke, "We do not use language..."

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" the little unicorn interjected, "Neither of you could ever know how incredible and fantastic he was! I l-loved him so much! He was my b-best friend! He helped me when nopony else could and if you think I was obsessed with him because he was important to me, then ask Rarity about her 'obsession' with him!"

Nopony in the room was able to say anything at that, forcing a heavy, uncomfortable silence to manifest itself in the wake of Sweetie Belle's angry spiel. Magnum and Pearl looked to their youngest daughter with shock on their faces. Rarity's mouth opened and closed, trying her best to find something, anything to say that could help this issue, ignoring the red tinge that was rapidly creeping onto her alabaster cheeks.

"Sweetie..." said Magnum, his voice softening as his daughter's gaze pierced him like a dagger, "I... didn't..."

"Understand?" said Sweetie, her blood boiling as she felt her eyes begin to water with anger once more, "That's because you didn't know him, and thanks to Filthy Rich and his followers, Josh's gone! For all I know, we'll never see him again, and... and... Oh, forget it."

With that final statement, Sweetie paced towards the front door, throwing it open and making her way outside and slamming it behind her. She ran along as rain began to pour down in heavy sheets, masking the tears flowing down her cheeks. She heard Rarity call after her as she made her way out into the trickling downpour, but wasn't about to go back there. She couldn't believe her own parents would be so cold and judgemental about her feelings for Josh, how they could just stand there and make assumptions about Josh when neither had a clue as to who he really was.

As the icy rain washed over her little white form, she continued to walk, tears still trailing from her beautiful eyes. She had no clue where she was going or what she'd do once she got there, but that didn't matter now, not when she was so upset. The little filly never even noticed as she passed by the library which was aglow with a soft and comforting light.

"Hey! Sweetie! Sweetie Belle! Over here!"

For whatever reason, Sweetie stopped her forward motion upon hearing the familiar voice of Spike call out to her over the torrent of rain that was pounding the ground. She turned back in time to see the front door open up and Twilight come bursting out, making a mad dash for the unicorn filly.

"Sweetie! What're you doing out here?" asked Twilight, rushing up to Sweetie and stopping dead before her, "You shouldn't be out in a storm like this! Come on, let's get you inside."

The filly just stood there for a short time, her eyes still watering from crying. She said nothing to Twilight, instead breathing heavily and sobbing more and more as the mare looked down upon her. Eventually, Twilight was able to convince the filly to make her way inside the library and sit in front of the fire to dry off and rest. Sweetie continued to cry for some time as Twilight sat next to her, doing anything she possibly could to help console the young pony. Eventually, Sweetie succumbed to her complete physical and emotional exhaustion and fell asleep next to Twilight, memories and silent hopes for her best friend weighing heavily on her mind.


	5. Chapter 5: Transition

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 5: Transition

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 5: Transition

Josh sat in Otis and Martha's truck as it made its way into down the road, leaning against the passenger side door with his eyes closed, listening to the two elderly farmers chatting idly about Kansas City. Since Otis had caught Josh trying to leave on his own that morning, the producer had realized just how idiotic an idea it had been to just head out and hope for the best. He truly had had no plan for what he was going to do once he got out, having no money and not exactly interested in hitch hiking all the way to the west coast. I probably wouldn't have even made it past Kansas state lines, he thought, barely listening to Otis and Martha's conversation as the truck bounced slightly. Josh couldn't thank Otis enough for talking him out of doing such a stupid thing and more than likely saving his life.

"Josh, dear," said Martha, gently rousing the young man from his ruminating, "We're almost there."

As Josh's eyes opened, he looked out the windshield for the first time in hours, seeing the large, rounded buildings of Kansas City International Airport before his eyes. Planes were all over; some taking off behind the terminals, some landing to unload their passengers. Josh recalled the last time he was here, how he'd been returning to Los Angeles after coming back to earth from Equestria the first time. His manager, Liam, had sent an entourage to get the young producer upon hearing that he had returned after two months of being missing and was more than eager to get Josh back in the limelight and working again. That time, however, Josh hadn't stayed long, having broken down in the middle of a press conference, only to have Princess Celestia, accompanied by Vinyl, come and take him back to his home in Equestria.

Otis's truck made its way through the large, curved drive, pulling off upon seeing the sign for terminal B. Upon reaching the halfway point of the circular drive, Otis pulled up to the curb and quickly parked the truck, allowing Josh to open his door and jump out onto the sidewalk. The terminal was filled with life and noise as people milled about, some heading inside, others making their way out, and even more seeing off their loved ones. The sounds of plane engines filled the place and echoed all around, mixing with the voices of the passengers, and the occasional voice calling out over a loudspeaker, saying things Josh couldn't quite make out.

"I haven't been here in years." said Martha, climbing out next to Josh as her husband made his way around the truck to stand with his wife and the young man, "It's definitely busy."

"I've seen worse." said Josh, looking through the large glass windows at all the people inside the terminal.

Silence fell for a short time between the three standing next to Otis's truck. The farmers glanced at one another, then turned back to Josh, unsure of what to say or do next.

"Well," Otis began, making his way towards Josh, who turned to address the old man, "here ya' are, Josh. It ain't much, but it'll help get you by for a while in LA till you can get yourself a job."

Otis reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Josh. The young man curiously opened the envelope to inspect its contents, letting out a small gasp and directing a stare of disbelief at the old couple before him.

"Four hundred dollars?" asked Josh, looking up from inspecting the money at Otis and Martha. "Guys... you don't have to do this for me. It's bad enough you're already paying for my ticket to LA."

"Think nothing of it, honey." said Martha, smiling at Josh and cupping his hand around the money, "It's the least we can do for you."

Josh felt a lump form in his throat once again. These two, old farmers whose property he'd landed on without warning twice in two years, who had taken him in both times, no questions asked and given him some of their own precious resources, were once again showing him that there was some sense of civility in the world of humans. The young man reached out and wrapped his arms around the couple, pulling them in close and embracing them. Otis and Martha returned the gesture in full measure, patting him on the back and helping to reassure him that everything would be alright. After some time, Josh released the two and stood before them once again, beaming at them both.

"You guys..." he said, pausing to try and find the right words for the situation, "Thanks. For everything. I don't know how I can ever repay you for everything you've done for me."

"No need, Josh." said Otis, placing his hand on Josh's shoulder, "It's been a pleasure having you here... even if we're still not entirely sure just how you got here to begin with."

Josh managed a chuckle at that.

"We're hoping and praying for you, dear." said Martha, reaching up to kiss Josh on the cheek, "Hopefully, one day, you'll be able to get back to your home and see Vinyl again. But you have to stop by and see us again before you do that, alright?"

"And try to bring her along some time." Otis added, "We'd love to meet this girl. If she's in love with you, she must be a great woman."

"I'll make sure to stop by with her if I ever get the chance." Josh said, chuckling some more.

Martha gave Josh one last hug before saying her final goodbye with a tear in her eye. Once she was back in the truck, Otis turned back to Josh, looking deep into his eyes for the second time that day.

"You're a good man, Josh." he said, "No matter what anyone else says, you're a good man. I don't know what'll happen to you once you're gone from here, but I know that you've got great things in your future. Don't forget what's really important in your life, and make sure to make each day one worth living, even when it seems too tough to move forward."

Josh nodded, and Otis smiled once more.

"Well, I think we'd better get going." Otis said, sharing a look with Martha before turning to Josh with a smile. "You've got a plane to catch."

With that, Otis made his way back around to the drivers side of the truck, leaving Josh to make his way into the terminal.

"Oh, and Josh!" called Otis, making Josh turn around once more, "If you're gonna come see us again, could you warn us ahead of time?"

"Can do!" called Josh, smiling wide as Otis jumped back into the truck and started up the engine.

Martha waved to the young man from the truck as Otis threw it into gear and turned away from the curb, making their way down the road and disappearing around the corner. Josh watched them leave, finally lowering his hand from its wave once they were out of sight. _I'll make all this up to you guys some day_, he thought, staring at the spot where the truck had disappeared only moments ago, _I promise_. After standing there for some time, Josh turned around and made his way into the terminal, looking all around for the signs that would lead him to the ticketing counters.

The terminal was fairly busy, with passengers moving all around, checking bags, moving towards security, stopping at the little shops nearby to pick up anything they might need for their long trips. Josh made his way through the large, rounded area, spotting all kinds of people; from businessmen and -women talking on their phones, to entire families who looked to be headed off for a leisurely vacation. After what seemed like an eternity of navigating the cesspool of human stupidity, he finally spotted the ticket counter for the airline he'd need and took his place in the line. Slowly, and painfully, Josh made his way through the line, forced to listen in on the inane conversations of the people around him. After some time, he was able to make it to the front and approached the woman at the counter; a pretty, slender brunette with a smile on her face.

"Hello there," she said cheerily, smiling even wider at Josh as he approached, "how can I help you sir?"

"I'd like one ticket to Los Angeles." he said, watching as she nodded and began to type on her computer.

"One way or round trip?" she asked, looking up to Josh once again with that sickeningly sweet smile.

"One way."

The woman returned to typing on her computer, asking Josh for his name, address, driver's license, and any other bits of information the airline could use in the future. Once he had answered each question, she printed out a ticket and handed it to him.

"You need anything else?" she asked, her smile never once faltering.

"I think I'm alright."

"Alright then. Enjoy your flight."

Josh nodded and made his way away from the counter, looking down at his ticket to see what gate he'd be departing from. He passed through the security checkpoint, letting the security officer look at his ticket and driver's license, then going through the scanners and other seemingly pointless contraptions till he reached the other side. After putting his shoes on and returning his possessions in his pockets, he headed down towards his gate, just wishing to take a seat now and wait for the plane.

On his way to the gate, he caught sight of a large magazine stand nearby. Not wanting to be completely bored through his entire flight, he made for the stand, walking up to the girl behind the register.

"You wouldn't happen to have any copies of the latest EDM Magazine, would you?" he asked.

"Uh... Let me check." the girl said, making her way back to the nearby shelves and perusing the top few selections. After a few seconds of looking around, she pulled a publication off the top shelf and took it back to the counter, presenting it to Josh.

"This what you're looking for?" she asked, showing him the front cover.

Josh nodded and pulled out some money to pay for the magazine. The girl gave him back his change and asked him if he needed anything else, to which Josh said he was alright and the girl thanked him for his patronage. From there, the young producer spotted a nearby sandwich shop and felt his stomach rumble heavily. _Goddamn_ he thought, stopping and staring at the shop for a second, _I think my stomach is trying to eat itself_...

Josh headed over to the shop and ordered some food and a soda, sitting at a nearby table once he had received his order and beginning to eat while glancing through his magazine. He'd wanted to see if, even after a year of being gone, he was being mentioned in the world of electronic music, and flipped through page after page, expecting at any moment to see a picture of himself or something mentioning him in any way. Thankfully for the young man, the only mention of him came in an article about an up and coming producer named Sydeous, whose style was apparently similar to Josh's own. After he ascertained that he wouldn't be mentioned again, he folded the magazine up and put it away in his pocket, throwing his trash away and making for the departure gate nearby.

When Josh got to the gate, he saw people sitting around, some on their computers or phones, some chatting with those nearby, and some tending to their own children. The young man took a seat as far away from the crowd as he could and pulled his magazine back out of his pocket, intent on checking out the articles to see just how much had changed in the world of electronic music in his time away. He read all about how deadmau5 was intent on advocating against dubstep, how Alex S. and I.Y.F.F.E had unexpectedly managed to rise to the forefront of the industry, and whatever new songs were becoming big. He was halfway through the article on Sydeous when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone come and sit next to him, breaking his concentration a little.

"Whew," the stranger said exasperatedly, "Made it just in time. Thought I'd never get through security..."

Josh ignored the man and turned back to the magazine before him. The young producer wasn't one to try and make any sort of conversation with anyone, especially not now.

"You have any issue at the scanners?" asked the stranger, making Josh cringe internally at the thought of having to actually acknowledge the man.

Josh just shook his head, trying with all his might to return to reading, hoping that the man wouldn't try and talk to him further.

"Huh... maybe it's just me then..."

Again, Josh said nothing, hoping that would end the man's attempt to speak to him.

"What's that you're reading there?" he asked, leaning closer to Josh and peering at the picture of Sydeous on the page.

"It's called EDM Magazine." said Josh simply, turning the page, despite not having finished reading it, "It's all about electronic music."

"That's fascinating." said the man, leaning away from Josh again, "I've heard some of that stuff before. Gotta admit, it's not exactly my cup of tea, but I can appreciate that other people are into it."

Josh didn't respond once more, hoping that his lack of communication would dissuade the man from continuing this painful, forced conversation. For some time, silence fell between the two of them, which Josh relished at this moment in time.

"Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?" asked the man after some time, causing Josh to feel a twinge of annoyance at this stranger's insistence on chatting with him, "I've been to a lot of places, but I'll always think the sunset over Kansas is one of the most beautiful things in the world."

Josh, against his better judgement, glanced up and out the window before him towards the setting sun in an attempt to satiate the man's desire to talk. Indeed, the sight was quite beautiful, golden rays of sunlight playing over the ground and painting it a vibrant color. Josh thought back to his time in Equestria, watching as Celestia's sun did the very same thing, covering everything in its warm, rich light, causing even the most mundane and boring object to almost come alive with vibrancy. His mind looked back to all the times he'd laid out next to Vinyl and watched the sunset with her, seeing her cream colored coat turn the most incredible shade of gold, making her glow like the most regal of angels...

"Yessir." said the man, breaking Josh from his unexpected reverie, "That's one fantastic spectacle right there."

Josh finally tore his gaze away from the sunset, still seeing Vinyl's visage in his mind's eyes before turning back to his magazine in an attempt to suppress the thoughts that would undoubtedly make him cry once again. For what seemed like the hundredth time, silence fell between the man and Josh, the latter of whom wished that no more words would be spoken between the two of them. However, that wish was, of course, all in vain.

"So, what's taking you out to LA?" asked the stranger, now truly beginning to annoy Josh.

"Looking for work." Josh said simply, now all but willing to give up hope that this guy would leave him alone at any point.

"Ah, I see." said the man, "Well, I wish you the best of luck on that one. There's a lot of people in LA that'd like a job themselves. You got connections of some kind out there?"

Josh just nodded in affirmation.

"That's great." the stranger continued, "Any help you can get will be more than worthwhile."

Josh continued not to respond, realizing in his head that not talking simply wouldn't get this guy to stop trying to converse with him.

"I myself am headed back home." the man said, "Just came back out to Kansas to visit my wife."

"You two get divorced or something?" Josh asked, hoping his abrasiveness would finally get to the man and make it perfectly clear that the young producer wasn't willing to talk.

"No, not exactly." the man replied, somewhat solemnly, "She died over twenty years ago."

Josh suddenly stopped trying to tune out the stranger next to him with that last statement. Looking up, he saw the man truly for the first time, saw the thinning, gray hair and tired, brown eyes he had. But, to accompany the aged look was a small smile gracing his lips, one that completely belied the words this man had just said to Josh. The young producer found himself unable to ignore the old stranger sitting next to him anymore and was now listening as intently as he could for reasons he couldn't explain.

"What happened?" he asked, almost hesitantly, looking into the old man's eyes.

"She... she got melanoma. Neither of us had expected it at all." the man replied, turning away from Josh and looking back out the window before him, "She said that she'd always had to deal with little marks on her body here and there. Said she'd had them appear and disappear her entire life and that it wasn't a big deal, that I shouldn't worry about it too much. So, true to her wishes, we didn't do a whole lot about it, and everything seemed alright for a while."

"The next year, she started to get real sick, sicker than I'd ever seen her before." he continued as Josh listened intently, "I told her that she needed to go see a doctor about it, but the stubborn woman was adamant that it was nothing and that she'd be fine by the next day..."

The man paused for a second, allowing his words to linger in Josh's mind.

"Did she ever get to the doctor to be treated?" asked Josh, itching to know more of this man's story.

"Well, yes, she did. At my insistence." the stranger continued, looking back towards Josh, "Even up to the point when the doctor came back in and told us what the problem was, she was absolutely convinced that she was perfectly fine and that... and that she'd recover in no time at all."

Again, the man paused for a short time. Everything around Josh seemed to have melted away, leaving just himself and this aged stranger who seemed so normal and kind, but was probably more than broken on the inside.

"When the doctor came back in with the diagnosis, neither one of us was prepared to hear the truth. They gave her only three months to live before... it was too late."

"Wasn't there anything they could have done?" asked Josh, a little more forcefully than he'd meant to, "How could they just give her a timeline and call it good?"

"Her cancer had metastasized long ago, they'd said." the man responded, not even being phased by Josh's sudden change in tone, "Even if they were to try and treat it, all it would've done was prolong the inevitable. She refused to be kept alive by any sort of artificial means, and nothing I said would've ever changed her mind."

Josh was astounded at this unassuming man's ability to so openly and candidly talk about such a tragic event. The young man knew that if he'd been put in the same position with Vinyl, that there's no way he'd be able to have the same sort of attitude and outlook, no matter how hard he tried.

"She lived another four months, and I was there almost every day for her throughout that time. I was even there when she passed away, sitting next to her, holding her hand... You know, it's amazing to me, even to this day... With as sick and broken as she was by that point, with as close to Death's door as she was... to me, she was still the most beautiful creature in all of existence."

"She told me how much she loved me, and that she'd miss me," said the man. "And then, just like that, she was gone."

Silence like Josh had never known fell between the two of them upon the completion of that most final of statements. Again, the young man marveled at the individual sitting before him, so calm and collected while talking about something so tragic. This man had lost the love of his life to a horrific disease, and yet he could sit here, stoic and forthright, and describe such a crushing event.

"We held the funeral some time after she passed away." the man continued, forcing Josh's attention back to his words, "It was... actually rather pleasant. Once it was all said and done, I took her ashes to our old home and spread them around. That way, she'd never have to leave the place we once called home."

"What'd you do after all that?" asked Josh.

"I sort of... shut down." said the man, his shoulders slumping a little, "It was all too much for me to handle, I suppose. I loved my wife like nothing else in all of the world, and to lose her... I became cold and distant to everything and everyone for a very long time. Because of it, I lost most of my oldest and dearest friends. But, at the time, I didn't care. After all, what was the point of having friends if I didn't have the love of my life by my side?"

"Some time after her death, my sadness turned to anger. I was angry at everything I could think of; from the doctors, to God, to the disease itself. I was mostly angry at myself, though; for not acting when she needed me most. I always thought to myself, 'If I'd just been a stronger, more capable man, I could have saved her'."

"I was entirely convinced that it had been my fault, and that my spinelessness had cost a perfect and innocent creature her life. I traveled all over, always doing my best to avoid getting close to anyone for fear that I'd lose them as well. Everywhere I went, I became more and more disconnected, realizing that I was completely alone, and wanting it to stay that way."

"Eventually, my anger spread beyond myself, and I even became angry at those around me. I understood that I was accountable for my own actions, but that didn't stop me from trying to place the blame on others as well. Finally, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit this now, I even became angry at my wife; for leaving me so suddenly and causing this misery to fall upon me."

At that, Josh saw a single tear fall from the stranger's eye. Instantly, Josh felt a connection with this man, this simple, aged man who'd lost his love so suddenly and without any sort of say in the matter.

"So, how'd you manage to deal with it?" asked Josh, watching as the stranger pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes dry, "If you were so angry and resentful, how'd you make it through all that?."

"That was a miracle that, to this day, I still can't explain," said the man, beginning to smile once again. "I... got really low about a year and a half after she was gone. I decided that it was time to take matters into my own hands and finish myself off. I had a gun, just a little pea shooter, really, and, one day, I got it out and prepared to do the deed that would seal my own fate."

"Right as I put the barrel in my own mouth and was ready to pull the trigger, I got this feeling that I couldn't explain. It felt like... something was pulling the gun away from me, forcing me to drop it. I'm not sure when I made the connection, or even if it was what I was thinking at all, but I distinctly remember hearing my wife's voice somewhere in my mind, repeating her last words to me. 'I love you, and I want you to be the best you can be, even after I'm gone'."

"After I heard that, I couldn't help but drop the gun. I-I lost myself in memories, then; thinking back to all the fantastic times I'd had with her, and how she'd never really left me at all. You see, it was at that moment that I realized I'd been completely and totally wrong. Instead of mourning her death and festering in my own putrid self pity, I needed to celebrate her life, and live mine the way she'd have wanted me to."

"I don't know that I believe in God, or angels, or even ghosts, but I do know one thing for sure. She'd been watching me all that time, and she was the one who'd stepped in one last time to make sure I didn't do something stupid."

Josh continued to stare at the old man as a huge smile came upon his face. He turned to look Josh in the eyes, now radiating a strange type of happiness and sense of hope.

"You see, when you lose someone you love, they never truly go away. They'll always live on in your heart, in your memories, and even in your soul, and so it's important that you never forget that they'll continue to love you, even when it seems like they're gone. I know for a fact that my wife still loves me, and nothing will ever change that. I live each day for her now, making sure she lives on through me. She's gone from here, but she'll never be gone from here."

The old man placed his hand on chest, continuing to look deep into Josh's eyes. The young producer stared back at the man whom he'd seen as nothing more than another annoyance before now, and saw an individual who had been through many hardships in his life, but had also managed to overcome them all with the greatest of perseverance. _If he can make it with all the shit he's had to deal with, then what's stopping me?_ Josh thought.

Suddenly, the woman at the gate counter announced that the flight to Los Angeles was boarding, causing the old man to break his eye contact with Josh.

"Well, what do ya' know." he said, standing up and grabbing his bag nearby, "Looks like it's time to get moving. It was very kind of you to indulge an old man in listening to one of his stories."

"Yeah," said Josh, still mesmerized by what he'd just heard and thought about. "Wait!"

"Yes?"

"What's your name? I forgot to even ask."

"Henry." replied the stranger, smiling down at Josh as he continued to sit there, "And yours?"

"Josh."

"Well, Josh, I hope we run into one another in LA some time." Henry said, turning to look at the gate, "Have a good day!"

Josh waved to Henry as he walked across the room to the counter and stepped into the tunnel to board the plane. Henry's words echoed through Josh's head, filling him with a sense of hope he'd not known since returning to Earth. Though he wasn't with them now, he didn't love Vinyl or his friends any less. They were still the most important things in the world to him, and he knew that, even if he never saw them again, they'd always have a place in his heart, and he in theirs. Whether it be in Equestria or Earth, he will cherish the time he had with them, and keep trying to get back to them, someday. After all, he did promise that everything would be alright, and he'd die before he broke that.


	6. Chapter 6: Consultation

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 6: Consultation

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 6: Consultation

Josh looked out the window of the taxi he'd taken upon leaving LAX and watched luxurious home after luxurious home pass by his vision, some of their windows still giving off a faint glow that broke the blackness of night. Silently, he kept an eye out for one in particular, the one he'd been so mesmerized by the first time he'd seen it, having been unable to believe there existed homes that nice. He smiled a little as he thought about the first time he'd come through this neighborhood, how he'd been living in little shitty, extended stay motels all throughout the early days of his career as an electronic music producer, only to be taken in by one man who helped him rise from the ranks of anonymity and take a seat on the throne of music supremacy. Back then, he'd been experiencing nothing but absolute jubilation, quite the opposite of his feelings at this moment.

Eventually, he saw the home he'd remembered from so long ago and told the driver he could stop there. The man did so, quickly taking Josh's money and allowing the young producer to step out before heading off down the street once more. Josh stared at the extravagant building before him, looking up and down at the bright yellow trim in some spots. The roof on either end was rounded down, contrasting the normally sloped area in the middle. In the nearby garage, Josh noticed a vehicle he knew all too well, a bright red Aston Martin DB5, glistening as nearby lights played off its cherry surface. _Still not one for subtlety, are you?_ Josh thought as he finished his survey of the immediate area.

Slowly, Josh approached the front door of the villa, only now having second thoughts about this whole idea. It had been a year since he'd last seen his friend, having literally disappeared before his very eyes to take up residence in Equestria. Josh had no idea what he could say to explain himself, but he knew that his friend would undoubtedly ask how he was back on earth, a question Josh wasn't looking forward to having to answer again. He stood outside, staring at the suddenly ominous door before him and beginning to reevaluate his actions. Crickets chirped all around, their noise almost seeming deafening in his current, indecisive state. After a few moments more of mulling over the issue before him, he finally raised his arm and rang the softly glowing doorbell next to the outer frame.

Josh heard a muffled voice from inside the upstairs window and knew that he'd be facing a tirade like no other once the individual reached the door. After a few minutes of waiting, he heard the footsteps of someone making their way to the door, followed by the turning of the lock. For a half a second, Josh thought of turning and running away, hoping in vain that he could clear the porch in enough time before the door opened up all the way.

"It's 2 in the fucking morning!" said the irate, British voice from the other side as the door opened, "What are you..."

The man before Josh stopped his angry words upon seeing the young producer on his doorstep. Josh looked back at the man, who looked him up and down quickly, his mouth agape, clearly unable to believe what was before his eyes. The young man just managed a small smile towards his old friend, himself unable to say anything at all. The two just stared at one another for a while, till, at last, the man in the house found his tongue.

"... Josh..." he said quietly, staring at the young man before him in clear disbelief.

"Hey Liam." Josh replied weakly, giving a small wave to his former manager, "How's it been?"

Again, silence fell between the two of them. Liam looked Josh up and down several more times, apparently trying to cement in his own mind how it could be possible that his former star was standing before him after being gone for a year to a place he couldn't even begin to know where it was. Josh just stood there, still unable to find the proper words to speak to Liam.

"Who is it, sweetheart?" asked a female voice from behind Liam.

Josh suddenly saw a pretty, tall brunette woman walk up behind Liam and wrap her arms around his neck. She smiled sweetly at Josh, despite him having been the one to rudely wake them both up this late at night.

"Hello there." she said, still smiling at Josh over Liam's shoulder, "How can we help you tonight?"

"Uh, well..." said Josh, hesitating heavily at not knowing what to say or how to say it, "I'm here to talk to Liam."

"Oh, I see." replied the woman, taking her arms off of Liam and lightly pushing him out of the way, "Would you like to come inside... ?"

"Josh, and yeah, I'd love to."

The beautiful woman at Liam's side turned and gestured for Josh to enter. The young producer stepped inside the home as the woman carefully closed the door behind him.

"Liam, dear," said the woman, forcing Liam out of his stupor a little, "would you like to show our guest to the living room?"

Liam said nothing, but nodded, quickly making his way to Josh's side and grabbing his arm. Josh followed Liam as he pulled him rapidly into the nearby living space. As the entered, Josh looked all around and saw all sorts of memorabilia, from autographed records, to awards and other sorts of music paraphernalia. Pictures of musical producers adorned the walls, some Josh recognized, and some he figured must be somewhat new. On the mantle above the fireplace, Josh saw a picture of himself at a performance, his arms up on the air, his forehead shining a bright green color from the stage lights playing off his sweaty face.

Liam stopped pulling Josh along after reaching the center of the room and left him just standing there. Josh watched as Liam paced back and forth rapidly, occasionally glancing at the young producer before looking away and mumbling to himself. This proceeded to go on for some time, with Liam's mumbling becoming more and more frantic. After some time, he stood before Josh, looking deep into his eyes and panting from his incessant pacing.

"Uh... uh..." said Liam, snapping his fingers rapidly, "What's your third most popular song of all time and how long did it take you to make it?"

"What the hell?" asked Josh, raising his eyebrow, "What's that have to do with anything?"

"I'm seeing if you're really him." replied Liam, "Now, answer the question."

"L, it's me. I swear."

"I've gotta know!" Liam said forcefully, stomping his foot, "Now, answer the goddamn question!"

"Smackdown. Took me 27 hours to make." Josh said.

"Any fan could know that." said Liam, pacing once more, searching for another test he could give to Josh.

"Well, if that doesn't convince you, then I do remember that God-awful, giant tattoo you got on your back when we were on tour." said Josh, causing Liam to stop his pacing again and slowly look up, "I remember you getting so drunk that you tried to pick up that guy at the bar who looked like the hottest blonde either of us had ever seen. If you need a list, I can go on."

Liam turned back to Josh, his panting starting to die down at last. A smirk formed on Josh's lips at Liam's sudden change, knowing he'd managed to silence his protests. Another uncomfortable silence fell between the two, Liam's gaze never faltering once as he continued to stare at Josh. Then, without warning, he let out one, long sigh and relaxed his shoulders before collapsing into a nearby chair. Josh watched as his old friend began to pinch the bridge of his nose, remaining silent the entire time.

"Josh," called the woman from nearby, causing Josh to break his gaze away from Liam, "would you like a drink? We've got some perfectly good whiskey in here."

"Uh... sure." said Josh, and he soon heard the sound of chiming glasses and liquid being poured.

The woman returned to the living room shortly after, carrying a small tray with three glasses filled with amber liquid.

"Here you go." she said, handing Josh his glass off the tray, "Have a seat anywhere."

Josh took the drink and turned to the nearby couch, quickly taking a seat and looking back to Liam. The woman had taken her own seat next to Liam and handed him a drink before taking a sip of her own. Josh watched as Liam took one, large gulp of his own drink, wincing a little upon the alcohol passing down his throat. Josh took an obligatory drink of his own whiskey and felt the familiar sensation of light burning from the liquid. Together, the three sat in silence for a short time, Josh's eyes never once leaving Liam's now seemingly relaxed form on the chair nearby.

"So, Josh," said the woman, setting her glass down nearby, "how exactly do you know my Liam?"

"Well, he was kinda... we... uh..." Josh stammered, trying his best to phrase what he wanted to say without telling the attractive brunette who he really was.

"He was Xplushun, Samantha." said Liam finally, earning a gasp from Samantha and a glare from Josh.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, eyes widening as she looked back to Josh from Liam, "You're really Xploshun?!"

_Thanks for answering for me, jerkoff_ Josh thought.

"Yeah... At least, I was..."

"I'm such a huge fan of yours!" she said, her voice rising several octaves in fangirl excitement, "I went to one of your shows last year when you were in Dallas! I always wanted to meet you! Liam's told me so many stories about you!"

"Good ones, I hope." said Josh, smiling a little at Samantha's sudden exuberance.

"Only the best for you, man." Liam replied, still not moving from his position on the chair.

"Liam!" Samantha said angrily, "Why didn't you tell me this was Xploshun in the first place! You know I am a huge fan of him!"

"I wasn't sure it was really him!" replied Liam, his own voice rising in pitch as he glared back at Samantha, "Fucker's been gone for a year! I even saw him..."

Josh felt his heart drop as Liam paused. _Oh God_ he thought _please don't tell her the truth..._

"I... even saw him announce his retirement and then just ride off into the goddamn sunset like some sort of vagabond."

Josh let out a small sigh of relief as the Liam finished his sentence and returned his gaze to the young man before him.

"Well, either way, it's absolutely an honor to meet you." Samantha said, looking back to Josh as well and smiling, "Um... would you mind too much... if I asked for an autograph from you?"

"Uh... well..."

"Please? It'd mean the world to me! I've always wanted your autograph."

Josh looked up to the mantle nearby to the picture of himself at a performance.

"L here doesn't have anything I've personalized?" he asked, looking back to Samantha.

"He does, but I'd love to have one of my own... Pretty please?"

Josh looked to Samantha and saw her with her lower lip protruding in a manner very reminiscent of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whose cuteness Josh never could manage to fight.

"Sure, I think I can do that for you." he finally said, smiling as she jumped up with glee.

"Awesome! Let me go see if I still have the shirt from your performance I went to!"

With that, Samantha dashed up the stairs, giggling the whole way, leaving Josh and Liam alone once again. The young producer watched her giddily disappear before turning back to Liam, who was sitting with his elbows on either side of the chair and resting his head on his clasped hands.

"You haven't even been in my home for ten minutes, and already you've got my wife asking for your autograph." said Liam, smirking a little bit as he spoke,

"Disappearing off to God knows where for a year hasn't diminished your popularity at all, has it?"

"Certainly seems that way."

Another round of silence fell between the two men as they stared at one another. Josh had no idea what to say to his once-manager, and it seemed that Liam was struggling to find words of his own. Together, these two had worked their way up the electronic music ranks at a remarkable speed, with Liam getting Josh on an official tour only two years after officially signing him to his label. From there, the two just rode the tidal wave of success, astounding everyone with Josh's incredible style and musical ability. Now, however, that whole time seemed like nothing more than just a distant, long lost dream, an unbelievable fantasy that had ended all too soon.

"So," Liam finally said, breaking the heavy silence, "what brings you back here all of a sudden?"

Josh swallowed hard. He knew he'd have to eventually, but right now, with everything that had been going on and with how fresh his emotional wounds were, he wasn't prepared to tell Liam the truth, that he'd been forced from his home with no warning or choice in the matter.

"I..." he began, trying hard to not let his voice shake, "I'm not exactly here by choice... That's all I'm going to say for now."

Liam scrutinized the young producer for a short time, looking deep into his eyes, into the pain contained within the blue orbs.

"Fair enough." he said, "And what about your... pony friend, Vinyl?"

Josh looked back at Liam but said nothing, feeling a small lump form in his throat at the thought of his loving mare. Visions of Vinyl sad and alone, distraught beyond measure over losing her lover flashed through Josh's mind. Hot tears began to form in Josh's eyes and he looked away from Liam, trying not to allow his old friend to see them.

"She's... not still there, is she?" asked Liam, his voice softening upon seeing Josh's reaction to his question.

Josh felt a single tear leave his eye and make its way down his cheek, dripping off his chin and onto the thick, flannel shirt he wore. He looked up to Liam to see him sitting on the edge of his seat now, staring intently at Josh, a look of concern painting his face.

"They... they f-forced me out, L." said Josh, his voice now shaking heavily as tears streamed from his eyes, "Away from my home, my friends, and worst of all, they forced me away from her and... and I can't go back."

Josh buried his face in his hands, unable to hold back his emotions any more. He began to sob quietly into his palms, feeling tears flow fast and cover his hands. He'd hoped beyond hope that his heart had healed enough for him to at least be able to talk about what had happened without losing himself to the deep-seated sadness the memories dredged up. However, that was clearly not the case as he broke down in front of one of his once closest friends.

"Oh... Josh, I'm... so sorry... I... didn't know..." said Liam softly, reaching out a hand and placing it on Josh's softly trembling shoulder.

"It's... it's alright..." Josh said, trying to steady his breathing and wiping his eyes, "I guess... I'm not quite over it... I don't think I'll ever really get over it."

"Well... it's never easy to lose something so important to you." Liam said, sitting back in his chair as Josh regained his composure, "But, she's still there, isn't she?"

Josh nodded, looking back up to Liam.

"And she still loves you, right?"

"Of course. Just as much as I love her."

"Then you've not really lost one another, have you?"

Josh smiled a little at that, thinking back to Henry and the conversation the two had shared at the airport terminal.

"Thanks, L." Josh said, his smile still in place.

"Not a problem, mate." Liam said, returning Josh's look of gratitude.

"So," Josh said, leaning back on the couch and relaxing once more, "what all have I missed?"

"Well," Liam began, leaning back and crossing his legs, not taking his eyes off Josh, "to start off with, you left me with quite the mess to pick up here."

"How bad did it get?" Josh asked, internally cringing at the thought of his former manager having to explain to all sorts of media what had happened to Xploshun without telling them the whole truth.

"Well, not as bad as you might think." Liam replied, "All I really had to do was tell them that you'd retired and moved on. The real issue came with all those bloody reporters that saw you leave along with me. They made the whole scenario an absolute fucking disaster."

"None of them went public with what happened, did they?"

"Believe me, those fucking vultures were chomping at the bit to be able to release the whole story. But, the parasites realized pretty quick that they'd never have a chance. After all, if you were a sensible editor for one of those publications, would you really believe that one of the most famous dubstep producers in the world was magically taken away by two talking ponies?"

"Probably not..." Josh said, only now seeing the ridiculousness in that statement.

"There were a few who tried to get the story out there." Liam said, his brow contorting into a scowl, "Fucking bastards took the whole thing to any sort of shitty supermarket tabloid they could. Thank Christ those things are so unreliable, otherwise both you and myself would've been royally fucked."

"There were over a hundred of them there that day, though." Josh said, thinking back to the day of the press conference, "Surely, if they all saw it and the stories were consistent, someone would realize that it's not all bullshit."

"Hundreds of people all spouting the same insanity is still just that, insanity."

Josh's response died in his throat. In his entire time in Equestria, he'd given very little thought to what had happened on earth after he left. As far as he'd known, it hadn't mattered all that much, seeing as he never thought he'd be back here. In hindsight though, his leaving had to have made a huge impact, especially considering exactly how he'd left.

"The biggest problem I had to deal with was those fuckers coming my way, trying to get me to lend credibility to their story," Liam said, forcing Josh back out of his thoughts.

"They actually came to you for this?" Josh said disbelievingly, "What the fuck made them think they'd ever get you to say something?"

"Don't know and don't care." Liam responded angrily, clenching his fist, "I told each and every one of them to take and shove it right up their worthless, neurotic arses. I wasn't about to give those fuckers a single inch."

"They don't still bother you, do they? I mean, it's been a year since it all happened. Surely, they'd have to give up at some point."

"I still get at least one email a day from those fuckers, asking me to back them up on their crazy-ass claims."

Josh felt guilt tug at his heart a little at that moment. _Here I was, running around in some magical world filled with talking ponies, while L had to deal with all this fucking bullshit_ he thought, staring once again at Liam.

"But, they'll never get me to say a thing." Liam said forcefully, his trademark smirk crossing his face, "I'll take the truth to my fucking grave."

Josh smiled at Liam once again. Despite him leaving and practically forcing his manager to deal with all these issues, Liam was as dedicated as ever to helping protect Josh.

"Thanks for not saying anything. I know this can't have been easy to deal with, and with me not being here..."

"Well, I couldn't exactly say anything." Liam said, his smirk transforming into a sardonic smile, "After all, I don't need to be branded a nutcase like those idiots."

"Thanks anyway."

"Anytime, mate."

"Anything else I ought to know?" asked Josh, "Like, you getting married. When the fuck did that happen?"

"Ah, Samantha?" Liam said, another huge smile crossing his face, looking towards the stairs she'd disappeared up moments ago, "We've only been married a short time now. She's absolutely fantastic though, isn't she? Never thought I'd ever happen across a woman like that."

Josh saw an all too familiar dreamy look cross Liam's face as he talked about his wife. It was the very same look Josh would get whenever he thought about Vinyl before he'd been sent back to earth, that look that displayed nothing but bliss at the mere thought of the individual who seems to complete his soul.

"Well, I guess I'll have to get you some sort of wedding gift then." Josh said jokingly, forcing Liam's face to return to its normal state, "Then again, I've only got about four hundred left, so it won't be too extravagant."

"Only four hundred?" Liam said, "Well, we can clear that up in a second, I think. Hold on... Where did I put that card?"

Liam stood up and walked over to the coat rack in the hall, searching the pockets and mumbling incoherently. Josh watched him rummage before some time and was about to ask what exactly he was looking for before his former manager exclaimed and made his way back into the living room.

"Here you go." Liam said, handing Josh a plastic card. "You'll have to go talk to the bank before using it so you can change up the PIN, but I can assure you, there's quite a bit of money in that account for you."

"L," Josh said, staring at the bank card in his hand, "what's this all about?"

"It was incredible, actually." Liam said, retaking his seat in the nearby chair, "After you left, sales of your albums fucking skyrocketed like there was no tomorrow. I'd never seen anything like it before. I couldn't very well keep all the money from that though, so I opened up an account for you and kept putting more and more in every time payday came around."

"You... saved up money for me, even though I'd left?" Josh said, finally glancing away from the card and towards Liam, unable to hide the shock in his voice, "Why?"

"I dunno." Liam said, shrugging, "I just figured maybe you'd come back and visit at some point, maybe take your pony out for a good time if you brought her with you."

Again, Josh just stared at Liam, unable to believe his old friend was still looking out for him even though he'd been gone for so long.

"I-I don't know what to say, L..." Josh said, yet another smile finding its way onto his face as he looked towards Liam, "Thank you. For everything..."

"Like I said, no problem. Just because you're not here, that doesn't mean I'd just forget about you." Liam said, returning Josh's smile again.

Josh and Liam sat in companionable silence for some time, the young producer still in a state of disbelief. Even in a year of being away, his closest and dearest friend never forgot about him or left him out to dry. Liam still deeply cared about Josh, and was obviously willing to endure the insane burden of the truth behind his leaving, not once letting it out for anything in the world.

"So, now that I've caught you up on the past year here," Liam said, drawing Josh's attention back to him once again, "I'd love to know what exactly brought you out here to see me."

Josh bit his lip slightly, unsure how to exactly phrase what he'd come all this way to say. It had seemed so easy on the plane to tell himself exactly what he knew needed to be said, but it was another story actually sitting before Liam, who had just admitted that in the past year he'd done more for Josh than he could have dreamed. However, the young man had already done so much to make it to his friend and knew he could back down now.

"I... wanted to ask you for something..." Josh hesitated, causing Liam to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, Josh," Liam said, leaning forward once again in his chair, "you know you can ask me for anything."

"I was sort of hoping that... you could give me a job."

"I think I can do that." Liam said after a moment of contemplation, smiling at Josh again and sitting back in the chair once more, "May I ask why you're so eager to get back on your feet though? I'm not sure how long you've been back, but I can't imagine it's been too long. Shouldn't you take some more time to rest before jumping back into the swing of things?"

"I've sat around long enough, L." Josh said, thinking back on the last week and all he'd thought about while ruminating on everything that had happened, "Working helps me take my mind off all the shit I've been through recently. The less I focus on all that, the better."

"Fair enough..." Liam said, "If that's the case, then I'll get on the phone with some people and we'll see what we can do. I can't guarantee you'll have a tour all that soon, but..."

"A tour?"

"Yeah. You're planning on going back to performing, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, L, but I can't." Josh said, causing Liam to start.

"What do you mean you can't?" Liam said, rather forcefully, "You're bloody Xploshun! If you were to make a comeback now, with as popular as you still are in the world of dubstep, it'd be like the second coming! What's holding you back?"

Josh just stared at Liam, feeling his heart sink. He'd been afraid that his old friend would react like this, maybe even refuse to help him if he didn't do what it seemed would only be natural for him to do. However, Josh knew full well that there was no way he could be a producer anymore, that there was something extremely important missing for him to find any sort comfort and happiness in what was once his greatest passion in life...

"It's her, L." he said quietly, trying hard once more to keep his voice steady, "It's Vinyl. She was... more than just my marefriend."

"Oh... I see..." Liam said, slumping a little in his seat as realization dawned on him, "She... she was your partner as well, wasn't she?"

Josh just slowly nodded, fighting the urge to cry again. Liam just stared at the young man once again, a look of concern painting his face.

"So, I you don't want to be involved with music, do you?" Liam asked, "Don't want to bring up... painful memories."

"The memories I have are far from painful, L." Josh said, thinking back to all the shows he'd done with Vinyl and all the fun the two of them had had as they performed all over Equestria, "They hurt now, but they're still happy deep down. The music's all I've got left anymore, but I just can't make it..."

"So then," Liam said, "what exactly did you have in mind if not to be a producer again?"

"I was thinking... maybe I could be a roadie or something like that."

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Liam shouted, causing Josh to jump in his seat at the sudden change of tone.

Liam quickly covered his mouth after the sudden outburst, looking towards the stairs to see if Samantha was on her way back down. When it was apparent she hadn't heard him, Liam removed his hand from his face and sighed, looking back to Josh and glaring slightly.

"What could possibly possess you to want to be roadie?" Liam asked in a somewhat harsh whisper, leaning into speak to Josh, "You know what it's like for them better than anyone! You'll be nothing but a tick-turd, a bitch who's supposed to do everything they're told and more! You deserve much better than that, Josh. I mean, you were Xploshun, for Christ's sake, one of the greatest producers around!"

"But I'm not Xploshun anymore, L." Josh said firmly, a hint of frustration entering his voice, "I'm just Josh. That's all I'm ever gonna be. And you're right, I do know what it's like. God only knows how many roadies I fucked with when I was on tour before..."

Liam just stared at Josh, unable to form the words tearing at his tongue. He covered his face with his hands in frustration, unwilling to give in to Josh's idea of taking the largest step downward that he possibly could and becoming nothing more than servant to some other producer.

"Liam," Josh said softly, causing Liam to peer through his fingers at the young man, "I've gotta do something. I've spent the last week of my life closed off from the world feeling sorry for myself. I can't keep that up. It wouldn't be right. Vinyl wouldn't want me to live empty life. Please."

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head slightly. Josh hoped beyond hope that his friend would grant him this one last wish, allowing him to begin the process of moving on with his life.

"Josh," Liam said, stalling a little as he spoke. "You know I'd do anything for you. I mean, hell, I've spent the last year here covering for you as much as I could, even when it seemed like you weren't ever going to come back... I don't know that I can get you on with anyone right now... The only two tours I know of have full crews, and they're not looking for any more."

Josh hung his head a little at that.

"But... I'm going to be travelling with a new guy starting tomorrow." Liam said, causing Josh to glance back up at him, "I can't get you on as a roadie, but I'll gladly take you on as my assistant. That way, you can be around the music all you like, and you don't have to be told what to do by anyone... save for me, of course."

Josh felt his heart leap a little as he looked back to Liam. After all the trouble he'd gone through in the last year to keep Josh's reputation protected from those who would seek to discredit him, still his old friend had nothing but care for the young man. Josh broke into a grin, a gesture which Liam once again returned.

"L," he said, fighting the urge to jump up and hug his friend, "thank you, so much... You have no idea what this means to me."

"Well, I can't just turn you away, now can I?"

Josh chuckled a little at that, as did Liam. Suddenly, both men heard Samantha calling from the stairs.

"Sorry it took so long." She said, descending with a white shirt in her hand. "I thought I'd left it in the closet, but it was in the back of a drawer. I brought you a marker, too!"

Making her way to the center of the room and standing between Josh and Liam, she excitedly handed the young man the shirt and permanent marker. Josh took hold of both and looked up to Samantha who was practically bouncing with excitement.

"What do you want me to say on this?" He asked, removing the cap on the marker and preparing to write.

"Hmm..." Samantha said, putting a finger to her chin in contemplation. "How about 'To My Biggest Fans, Samantha and Liam'."

Josh signed as she'd said and added his signature at the bottom of the message, making sure to add extra detail to his stage name. Capping the marker again, he handed the garment back to Samantha, smiling at her as she took back the shirt and squealed with excitement.

"Oh my God, thank you so much!" She said, bouncing up and down and giggling like a little girl.

"Not a problem." Josh said, watching the fangirl moment before him, images of Pinkie and her over exuberant nature flashing through his head.

Liam smiled at Josh from behind Samantha, who turned back to her husband.

"This is so awesome, isn't it baby?" she said, clutching the shirt like it was a precious stuffed animal. "I finally got his autograph!"

"That's absolutely fantastic, sweetheart." Liam said, standing up and giving his wife a quick peck on the lips before looking down to Josh, "Well, we'd better get back to sleep. Gotta get up early to get ready for tomorrow."

"Where're we headed tomorrow, exactly?" Josh asked.

"He's starting out in Vegas and we've gotta get there to keep an eye on prep for the show." Liam answered. "It'll be quite the drive, so we'll need some shuteye if we're gonna make it in one piece."

"Oh, are you going, too, Josh?" Samantha asked.

"Yup. Samantha, you're looking at my new assistant." Liam said before Josh could respond. "We've got a spare bedroom here if you'd like to stay for the night."

"Thanks, L." Josh said, standing up and smiling once more at Liam. "I think I've bothered you two enough for one night though. I'll just go and find a nice motel to stay at or something."

"It's no trouble at all." Samantha interjected. "We'd love to have you stay for the night."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be better off on my own one last time." Josh said, looking between Liam and Samantha. "Let this all sink in for a bit."

Liam nodded once more before looking to his wife once again.

"Why don't you head on upstairs and get back in bed, love." He said. "I'll see Josh off and then be right up, alright?"

Samantha nodded in affirmation before moving in and giving Josh a quick kiss on the cheek.

"It was so great to meet you, Josh." She said, hugging the young man. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow before you leave then."

"I guess you will." he said, grinning at her as she stepped away, "Thanks for seeing me this late at night; I know that must have been a bit of a pain for you two."

"It's no trouble at all, dear."

With that, Samantha gave Liam a quick kiss before heading back up the stairs, waving goodbye to Josh as she disappeared from sight. Liam pulled out his phone and made a quick call to one of his associates, asking for a limo to come by and take Josh wherever he wanted to go. When Liam finished with the call, he and Josh made their way back to the front door of the villa.

"I'll swing by in the morning and grab you so we can head out." Liam said, "We'll stop by here one last time. I'm sure Samantha will want to see you off."

"L," Josh said, pausing with his hand on the doorknob, "thanks. For everything."

"Not a problem at all, Josh."

Liam placed his hands on Josh's shoulders, looking into his face and smiling a little.

"I know it has to be hard for you." he said, staring into Josh's eyes, "And, believe me, if I could ever find a way to get you back to Vinyl, I'd give everything I have to do so."

"I know you would, L." Josh said, grinning at his old friend. "That's why you're one of my best friends."

Liam pulled Josh into a hug, embracing him like a brother. Headlights appeared outside the home soon thereafter, and the two broke apart.

"I believe that's your ride, mate." Liam said.

Josh thanked Liam once more and opened the door, stepping outside and walking up to the limousine. Upon getting in, he saw Liam talking to the driver, who soon nodded and began to back out of the driveway.

"Can I get you anything before we head out, sir?" asked the driver, looking at Josh through the rear view mirror.

"No, I think I'm alright." Josh said, thinking about the last few moments he'd experienced. "I've got everything I need for now."


	7. Chapter 7: Selfish

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 7: Selfish

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 7: Trial

Josh peered out the window of the limousine as it passed through the arid landscape of Nevada, Liam sitting across from him doing the same. They had been on the road for a little over five hours now, occasionally engaging in some polite banter to pass the time. Liam had stopped by to grab Josh that morning and took him back to his and Samantha's villa so the excitable woman could see them off on their trip. All the time they'd been sitting there that morning, enjoying their breakfast, Samantha kept up an insatiable stream of questions about Josh and his time with Liam touring. Josh answered each and every one as best he could, all the while making sure to hold off on any details that would be detrimental to his or Liam's reputation, of which there was a lot.

"She's practically in love with you, mate." Liam had said as their ride pulled up that would take them to Vegas, "I've never seen her react to anyone like that in the entire time I've known her."

Josh was far from new to reactions like that, especially from women he'd met. In all his time of being a producer, he'd had more girls fawning over him than a newborn baby at a church service. Even a few times in Equestria, he'd found himself the center of attention for a few mares, only to have each and every one of them shot down by Vinyl. The young producer smiled upon remembering when one female attempted to advance upon him before a performance, only to have Vinyl practically beat her off the human. Josh had needed to do a lot of explaining that time, and the show was almost ruined because Vinyl had refused to go out on stage.

"Can you believe this fucking place?" Liam asked, drawing Josh's attention to him, "Why would anyone want to live in a bloody desert like this?"

"Hard to say." Josh said, glancing back out the window to the tan, practically barren area before his eyes, "It's definitely not a place I'd like to live."

Silence fell between them both again as Josh's full attention returned to looking out the window to the scenery speeding past his vision.

"I know this may not be the best time to ask something like this," Liam began, again forcing Josh's attention away from the window, "but, well, let's face it... In the matter of a year and a half, you've disappeared literally off the face of the earth. Twice. I need to know, Josh... Where did you go?"

Josh merely stared at Liam for a time. Part of him wanted to continue keeping the truth away from his former manager, to let remain what little information he'd actually managed to acquire from Josh. However, Liam had been there when it all had happened, when Princess Celestia and Vinyl had come to Earth to take Josh back to his home in Equestria. There was no point in trying to hide anymore, and Josh saw no reason to keep Liam in the dark on this any longer.

"L... do you believe in other worlds or dimensions?" he asked, looking back to Liam.

Liam stared back at him for a short time, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"I didn't before." he replied, "But, after what I saw last year, I'd be hard pressed not to think there are other worlds out there."

"Well, that's where I went." Josh said, "I was taken to another world called Equestria."

"Rather fitting name, don't you think?"

Josh nodded as another silence pervaded their short conversation. The two stared at one another for what seemed like the thousandth time since Josh had come back to see Liam, neither one able to find any sort of words to say.

"What was it like there?" asked Liam after some time.

"It was... one of the most beautiful places I think I've ever been." Josh said, a small smile forming on his lips as he thought back to Equestria and all the incredible sights he'd ever seen there, "Everything's so... vibrant and colorful. Everywhere you look, there's always something that you can't help but marvel at."

"What're their homes like?" Liam asked, leaning in towards Josh as he continued to ask him about Equestria, "I mean, they can't just all live in stables or anything like that, can they?"

"They have a decent mix of areas." Josh said, "There're some huge places like Manehatten or Seaddle or Las Pegasus. Then there are quaint little places like Ponyville, where I lived. As for housing, everyone lives in their own home. I never really saw any type of stables when I was there."

"That is absolutely fascinating." Liam said, a huge smile on his face as he pressed on, "What about the ponies themselves? I know you lived with a unicorn, but what about others? Didn't that one who came here have wings and a horn?"

"Yeah, she did. That was Princess Celestia. She's an alicorn, one of the rare ponies that exemplifies all three races."

"There are others?"

"Yeah, like pegasi ponies or earth ponies. There's griffons and dragons there too."

"Really?!" Liam said, practically throwing himself back in his seat, "That's... wow... Griffons and dragons as well as talking ponies?!"

"You sound like you don't believe me." Josh said, smirking a little at Liam's reaction to discovering that dragons and griffons did, in some way, exist.

"I can't not believe you, Josh." Liam said, still smiling a little as he processed the information given to him, "I mean... I've seen them myself. But... the way you describe these things... Magical pony princesses, unicorns, mythical beasts that walk and talk like humans... it seems like something out of a children's TV show or something."

"Well, believe me." Josh said, suddenly growing a little more somber as he thought more about the memories he had of Equestria, "It was very very real."

Liam stopped smiling as he noticed Josh's demeanor change so rapidly. Another round of silence fell hard and heavy between the two old friends.

"And Vinyl..." he said, rather hesitant as he spoke, not wanting to upset Josh, "What... what was she like?"

Josh felt his heart sink a little at those words. He'd been able to tell Liam all about Equestria with no trouble at all so far, even laughing along with him a little as he realized the ridiculousness of what he was saying. However, he still didn't know if he was ready to talk about Vinyl and all the wonderful times he'd experienced with the cream colored unicorn.

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." Liam suddenly said, shrinking away a little as Josh's gaze fell back to him, "It's obviously not the right time to discuss that. Sorry I brought it up at all."

"It's alright, L." Josh said, trying his best to speak in a reassuring tone, "One day, I'll tell you all about her. I'm just... not ready to talk about her yet."

"Not a problem, mate." Liam said, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't upset Josh, "We can talk about it whenever you're ready."

Josh nodded, causing Liam to smile at him once again. The two shared a companionable bout of quiet as the sound of the limousine engine continued to hum, carrying them down the highway towards Las Vegas.

"So," Josh asked, finally breaking the silence and sitting up in his seat, "Who're we meeting in Vegas, exactly? You never really did tell me anything about this guy."

"Well, words don't really do Syd much justice." Liam said, smirking as he turned back to the window, watching all the passing scenery once more.

Josh stepped out of the limousine right behind Liam, looking all around the bright, arid landscape at the city of Las Vegas. All around the area were different types of desert flora, all painting the area in different shades of green and tan. People bustled all about, some admiring the scenery, some heading to and from the casino, and even more chatting idly as they made their way past Josh and Liam on the sidewalk.

Josh looked up to the large structure before him, somewhat awed by the sight. Even the largest hotels in Equestria couldn't even come close to the size of this one, and it had been a very long time since he'd ever seen a structure this size, save for maybe Canterlot Castle.

"Hey, Josh!" Liam called, breaking Josh's attention away from the grand structure, "You coming, or are you going to stand out here all day and stare at the place?"

Josh rushed over to Liam, taking his place right next to his old friend as they made their way into the resort. Inside the lobby, people were milling about even more, some chatting and laughing while others were making their way around the place. Together, Josh and Liam made their way up to the front counter where a young man stood, smiling as they approached him.

"Hello and welcome to the Red Rock Hotel and Casino." he said, "How may I help you two gentlemen today?"

"Hello there." Liam greeted, leaning on the counter slightly with Josh beside him, "I need the keys to two rooms I called on about an hour or so ago."

"I see." said the young man, typing something into his computer, "And what was your last name, sir?"

"Kensington."

The man typed in something to the computer as Josh and Liam just stood there, waiting for him to address them again. After finishing his typing, he stepped back and pulled out a drawer from below the desk. He rummaged around for a second before pulling out two cards and placing them into separate pamphlets.

"Here's your key cards, sir." he said, handing them over the counter to Liam.

Liam grabbed the two pamphlets and thanked the man.

"Not a problem, sir." he said, his smile returning, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"If we could get someone to take our luggage to my room, that'd be lovely." Liam said.

"Not a problem, sir." the young man replied, looking back and forth between Josh and Liam, "Will that be all?"

"I believe so."

"Very well. Enjoy your stay here!"

With that, Liam handed Josh his room key and together, the two made their way down the nearby hall, passing by all sorts of guests and workers along the way. Upon reaching the elevators, they headed up to the fifteenth floor, getting off once they arrived and making their way towards their respective rooms. After a short walk, they found their place and made their way inside. Josh looked all around his room, to the neatly made bed in the center, the large television on the nearby wall, the huge desk and drawers there wrapped all around one corner. As he looked out the window, he noticed the entire Las Vegas strip in the distance, its bright signage and colorful places sticking out in the mostly suburban areas surrounding it.

"Well," Liam said from his door, causing Josh to turn and look at him once more, "what do you think?"

"It's awesome." Josh said, looking back out the window towards the strip, "It's been a long time since I've stayed in a place like this. Even the hotels I stayed at in Equestria weren't this nice. Then again, they were a lot smaller in scale than this one."

"Is everything there smaller?" asked Liam, showing genuine curiosity about the scale of things in a world filled with little ponies.

"Absolutely." Josh said, stepping away from the window and back towards his friend, "I always had to duck before entering anywhere. I can't even begin to tell you how many fucking times I hit my head on a doorframe there. And it's not just the doors either. Even the beds and other furniture are smaller. Thank God Vinyl knew how to use her magic to alter the size of things..."

"She could do magic?" he asked in almost the same disbelievingly amused tone he'd had on the way there.

"All unicorns can do magic." Josh said simply, "It's so commonplace there. It'd be no different than you or I learning how to use our hands for everyday tasks. It's their one way around the fact that they only have hooves."

"So, if only unicorns can use magic, then how do the other races of ponies do things like write, or open doors, or anything like that?"

"They usually use their mouths for that..."

"That's disgusting!" Liam said, a revolted look forming on his face at the thought of touching an object that someone had in their mouth, "Didn't that bother you at all?"

"A little, at first." Josh said, shrugging a little, "You just get used to it. Besides, it's not like they were sucking on the doorknob whenever they used it or anything like that."

"Well, it's still unsanitary." Liam said, looking at the doorknob with a sour look on his face, "Well, we'd better go check on Syd real quick. Come on."

Josh nodded and followed after Liam as the two made their way down the hall a little farther. Upon reaching the room they'd been looking for, Liam stopped Josh and turned to look him in the face once more.

"Now, there's something you may want to know about Syd..." Liam said, stalling as he tried to think of how to phrase his next statement, "He's... Well, to put it frankly, he's a lot like you. At least, like what you used to be."

"That why you chose him to be your next hit?" Josh asked, smirking a little, "You couldn't have me, so you just went for the next best thing?"

"I guess that may have been a factor..." Liam said, trailing off a little, "But, don't be surprised if he seems a little... rough around the edges."

"Come on, L." Josh said, opening up the door to the room, "How bad could he be?"

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!"

Josh turned just in time to see a lamp impact the far wall and shatter. He jumped from fright and nearly collapsed as he felt his heart skip a few beats. Liam followed Josh into the room, smirking a little.

"That bad." Liam said, quickly turning back to quell the angry ranting from around the corner.

Josh watched as a young man with shoulder length, black hair stepped out from behind the wall, his phone to his ear as he continued his enraged tirade.

"Listen, Frank," he yelled into the receiver, pointing emphatically as he did so, "if that stupid fuck broke that sub, I'm taking it out on you, got it?!"

"Syd," Liam said, making his way towards the young man, "what's the issue here?"

Syd gestured towards Liam, silently telling him to wait for his response. Josh heard an indistinguishable voice from the other end speaking before Syd lashed out once more.

"I don't care if he's been doing this for almost five years, dipshit." he said, scowling heavily, "That motherfucker almost broke my controller getting it on the transport out here. He's not gonna touch another piece of equipment without some sort of supervision, otherwise I'm gonna break his fucking kneecaps. Now, just finish getting all that shit out of the trailer, and if I get another call about equipment being dropped, there's gonna be some unhappy motherfuckers around here, including me!"

Syd angrily hung up the phone and turned away from Josh and Liam, still swearing and fuming. Josh, finally able to breathe again, stood up and made his way past the nearby wall, standing just behind Liam as he began to address Syd again.

"What was all that about?" Liam asked, causing Syd to turn around.

"Frank said that Dom dropped a sub as he was getting it out of the fucking trailer." Syd angrily responded, throwing his phone back into his pocket, "I'm tired of that idiot almost breaking my shit! That's the last time he's handling any sort of equipment anymore."

"Did he actually break it, or did Frank just say he thought it was broken?" Liam asked, stepping farther into the room.

"It's Dom, L." Syd said simply, "If he dropped it, odds are it's busted all to hell. You know what a stupid fuck he is."

"Right..." Liam said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Well, if all else fails... I'm sure we can go out and find another sub to replace that one. I hope."

"I can probably fix it." Josh said, causing Liam and Syd to direct their attention towards him.

"You can fix the sub?" Syd asked skeptically, raising one eyebrow, "How're you gonna do that, exactly?"

"If he only dropped it a short distance then the least that'll have happened is it's scratched and maybe a few wires got jostled out of place." Josh replied, looking between Syd and Liam as he spoke, "Just give me a few minutes to pop it open and check it for any damage. I guarantee you that I can fix it up, good as new."

"You really think you can do that?" Liam asked.

Josh nodded in response.

"Well, alright then." Liam said, smiling a little at Josh, "If you think you can do it, then go for it."

Josh returned Liam's smile and nodded once more.

"Who exactly are you again?" Syd asked suddenly, walking closer to Josh and looking up at him.

"Oh. I forgot to introduce him, didn't I?" Liam said, gesturing towards Josh, "Syd, this is my new assistant, Josh. Josh, this is Sydney Hamilton."

"That's Sydeous." Syd corrected, not taking his gaze off Josh's face.

"Nice to meet you." Josh replied somewhat jovially, holding out his hand to Syd.

The young man looking him over didn't take Josh's hand in his own, instead choosing to simply continue staring at Josh. Eventually, Josh dropped his hand and just stood there, not taking his eyes off Syd either, hoping that at some point the younger producer would make some sort of verbal acknowledgement of Josh's existence. After some time, Syd backed off from Josh, still staring at him.

"You... look really familiar." Syd said finally, causing Liam to go pale and Josh's heart to plummet a little.

He hadn't ever expected anyone to actually recognize him now that he was back beside Liam. After all, as a producer, he never relied on his own visage to sell his music. Now, however, he realized just how foolish a notion it had been to assume that nobody could possibly tell who he was by looking at him. He knew he needed to keep a low profile and find a way to convince Syd that he wasn't who he thought he was. His mind raced as he quickly thought up the best excuse he could to tell the young man.

"I've been a roadie for a long time." he said simply, trying to keep his voice level so as to not raise any sort of suspicion, "You've probably seen me in pictures with other producers or something. I only just recently became Liam's assistant."

Josh looked back to Liam to see the Brit was still somewhat pale, but that he looked slightly relieved. Turning his gaze back to Syd, he saw the young producer's eyes narrow slightly as he contemplated Josh's words.

"Since when has L needed an assistant?" Syd asked matter of factly, "He never had one before."

"From what he told me, he just needs someone to help keep an eye on show prep whenever he can't be there." Josh stated, managing a glance back to Liam, who was nodding slowly, "He's got a lot of stuff on his plate to take care of at the moment, and he's been needing someone to fill in for him from time to time."

Syd's intense glare softened a little as he took in Josh's words. Slowly, he turned to look at Liam, who immediately stopped his nodding.

"Is that true?" he asked incredulously.

"For the most part." Liam responded, shrugging a little as he spoke, "Things have been pretty hectic in my life, and I realized that I'd probably not always be able to come around to help when you'll need me. Josh has been a roadie for long enough, I figured he'd know all the ins and outs of putting on a show like these ones."

Josh let out an internal sigh of relief upon hearing Liam's words backing up his story. Syd turned back around to Josh and glanced at him for a few seconds more.

"Alright then." he said after a short time, "I guess that makes sense. Just don't let yourself become L's bitch."

Syd extended his hand, a smirk covering his face. Josh flashed a grin and grasped Syd's hand firmly, giving it a quick shake.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Together, the three men stood in the hotel room for a short time, a rather heavy silence falling between them all. Josh realized that he and Liam had just successfully dodged their first of what they expected to be many bullets when it came to Josh's identity. From here on out, they'd have to really monitor things around them, to make sure no one caught on to who Josh really was. Easier said than done, though...

"Well," Liam said, clapping his hands together, drawing Josh and Syd's attention back to him, "that's enough chit chat, let's head out to the stadium to check on prep for the show. And Josh, you can fix the sub once we get there."

"Sounds good to me." Syd replied, making his way towards the door.

"Can I talk to you real quick before we get too far ahead of ourselves, L?" Josh asked.

"Sure thing." Liam said, making his way out to the hall, "Syd, stay here for a sec, alright? I'd prefer if we head out together."

Syd nodded, and Liam headed out the entryway, followed by Josh. The young man partially closed the door on his way out, leaving it open just enough to see Syd still inside.

"That was the quickest I've ever seen anyone make up a story in my entire life." Liam said, chuckling a little at the thought of what had just transpired in the hotel room, "To be honest, I hadn't even thought about him recognizing you. Sorry about that..."

"I didn't think he would either." Josh replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Looking back on it, you'd think that'd be the number one thing we'd have thought about to begin with."

Liam nodded as a short silence settled between the two men once again.

"So, what do you think of him?" Liam asked, leaning against the wall, a smirk painting his face.

"Well... he certainly does seem a lot like me." Josh said, peering back into the room for a second to see Syd pulling out something from his pocket, "Maybe a little too much like me, now that you mention it."

"He certainly does have his moments." Liam said, "I don't remember you getting pissed off and throwing shit across the room, though."

Josh chuckled at that as he turned his attention back to Liam. His friend's face held a heavy look of concern as he peered into Josh's eyes.

"You know... you don't have to go back to this." Liam said, "You know better than anyone what this life is like. All the moving around, the stress of getting equipment set up and taken down, the temptations all around... If it's not for you, then I'd be more than willing to give you a better job, something simpler."

"L," Josh said, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder and giving him a small reassuring smile, "I need to do this. I can't just keep sitting around, feeling sorry for myself. I've spent too much time doing that as it is. I just... I need this, alright?"

Liam sighed, a small smile forming on his face. He glanced back into Josh's eyes, searching for and finding the sincerity behind his words.

"I know." he said simply, "You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I get it, I really do. But, if it gets to be too much for you, don't be afraid to tell me, okay?"

"Not to worry L." Josh said, glancing back into the room, "I'm sure everything'll work out just fine."

He looked back inside the room just in time to see Syd sit up from bending over onto the nearby dresser, holding his nose and wincing in pain.

"At least... I hope it will."

Octavia peered out the window of the train as it moved down the mountain from Canterlot, making its way back towards Ponyville. She had just finished with her latest rehearsal with the Canterlot Royal Symphony, which had also been her first time back in a little over a week. The gray mare had been so concerned for Vinyl over the course of the last week that she hadn't left the house except to grab the occasional necessity from around town. Vinyl had been showing some improvement, however, so Tavi thought it would finally be alright for her to head out and go to Canterlot for her rehearsal. That being said, she had been almost completely unable to focus due to a lack of sleep and her mind being centered on concern for her distraught best friend who was all alone at home, save for the occasional visit from Twilight or somepony else to make sure she was safe.

As the gray cellist continued to stare out the glass before her to the scenery flying by, which was painted in a golden hue from the setting of Celestia's sun, she let out a sigh of absolute exhaustion. Sleep had proven to be quite elusive recently, but she was finally getting back to where she needed to be. Despite that fact, she was still almost always tired, and her ability to do much more than just help Vinyl and stay at the house had been severely diminished. Even walking around town seemed like a challenge anymore, though Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were quite a help to her there. _Even as I'm taking care of Vinyl, those three are having to take care of me_ she thought as she sat there, ruminating on everything from the last week.

"Good evening, my dear." a voice said from right behind her.

Tavi's attention on the window broke away after what had seemed like an eternity and she turned to address whoever was speaking to her. There stood Dr. Whooves, one of her oldest friends from when she used to live in Canterlot. He looked into her tired face with a small smile gracing his own vibrant one.

"Oh," Tavi said, somewhat quietly, "hello there, Doctor. How are you?"

"I'm quite alright." he said with his usual calming intelligence, walking over to the seat in front of her and taking his place there, "And how are you? Are things any better with you and Vinyl?"

"It's been a very, very slow process of healing, and not everything is alright just yet, but things have been improving." Tavi replied, "Vinyl's still getting sick almost every morning though... Poor girl."

"He really meant a lot to her, didn't he?"

"He was her whole world." Tavi said, trying to maintain a steady voice as she spoke, "I've never seen her so close to anypony in the entire time I've known her. And he loved her at least as much as she loved him."

"Well, he was a rather nice chap." Dr. Whooves said simply, "Definitely a good man. I'll admit, though, I did judge him rather harshly myself when he first came here."

"You, Doctor?" Octavia exclaimed, a little more forcefully than was necessary, "Of all ponies to judge, you?! Don't tell me you subscribed to Filthy Rich's insane notions that Josh was some sort of monster."

"Of course not." the Doctor said, raising his hooves in defense, "I would never sink that low. But, you have to admit, Octavia, Josh was a bit of a wild card. Nopony really knew him, and he was fairly intimidating. It wasn't until he began to really be helpful to the town that a lot of ponies took to him. I, myself, thought he was quite the upstanding individual once I got to interact with him a little more."

"And what about when Filthy spouted his little hate speech about Josh's past?" Tavi said, still rather sharply, "What did you do then?"

"Well, everypony has something that they're not proud of, I suppose." Dr. Whooves said hesitantly, "I mean, if anypony truly knew of the skeletons in the closets of others, they may not look upon them so favorably."

"The mistakes that he made in his past are absolutely not grounds for hatred." Octavia said somberly.

"And I agree." Dr. Whooves stated, "Nopony like him deserves to be forced out of his own home like some sort of common pest."

"If only everypony in town could see it that way..."

Silence fell between the two of them as the train continued to roll down the tracks towards its destination. Octavia turned her attention back to the window and the scenery outside as she her thoughts diverted back to Josh. He had been such a blessing to those he was close to, had left such a huge impression on everypony. Octavia still couldn't wrap her mind around why somepony could go from being so loved to being so hated in almost no time at all.

"I know how special he was to you all, Octavia." Dr. Whooves said gently, "I've never seen anypony who can impact those around him like Josh could all my life. I'm confident in saying that, wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he wants to come home as badly as you all want him to return. And I know he couldn't bear resting until he can see you all again."

Tavi smiled and looked back towards the Doctor, who returned her gesture.

"Thank you very much, Doctor." she said softly.

"Anytime, Tavi."

Together, Octavia and Dr. Whooves sat and chatted idly as the train continued towards Ponyville. By the time that they had arrived at their destination, Tavi felt worlds better, despite still having been fairly deprived of sleep. She and the Doctor stepped off the train and onto the platform, both preparing to head off towards their respective homes.

"Well, Octavia," Dr. Whooves said, stopping to address Tavi for a second, "I guess this is where we part ways."

"I suppose so." she said, grinning back at the Doctor, "Thank you for keeping me company, Doctor."

"It was a pleasure, Octavia." he said, turning around and heading off the platform, "Give my best regards to Vinyl, would you?"

"I'll be sure to do that."

With that, Dr. Whooves disappeared behind the train station, undoubtedly heading back to his home for the night. Tavi followed soon after, making her way through town towards the other end of town and her own house. As she walked, shops began to shut down for the night, market vendors wandering all around, making sure that they'd closed up everything they needed to. The gray mare passed by one stall that smelled fiercely of fresh fruit, and her stomach suddenly began to rumble, reminding her that she had to do something for dinner for her and Vinyl. She was far too tired to cook anything tonight, and she didn't feel like really going out to get something for the two of them, not to mention that Vinyl probably wouldn't want to leave the house anyway...

It was then that she spotted Sugarcube Corner a short way away, its windows still lit and a few ponies exiting the shop. _It wouldn't really be healthy for us to have sweets for a meal_ Tavi thought, placing a hoof to her chin in contemplation. _But... maybe a cake would help to make us bo feel a little better. That, and a nice bottle of wine.._. The cellist slowly made her way to the confectionery, heading in through the door and causing the bell to jingle. As she approached the counter, Mr. Cake appeared out of the back room and stood behind the counter, ready to service his latest customer.

"Good evening, Octavia." he said amiably, smiling at the gray mare as she approached the counter, "How're you?"

"I'm a little tired, but doing alright." she replied, stopping short as she reached the stallion, "And yourself?"

"I'm not doing too bad." he replied, "Cup Cake's upstairs putting the foals to bed, so it's just me getting the shop closed up for the night. Speaking of which, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I needed to get dinner for Vinyl and I, and I thought we could have something a little different tonight." she said, "Could I trouble you for a small cake?"

"Not a problem." Mr. Cake said, turning and making his way back into the kitchen, "It may be a little bit, but I'll have it right out for you when it's done."

Octavia nodded and took a seat next to the counter, patiently waiting for her order to be ready. As she sat there, the sound of a door being opened and closed upstairs rang out, followed by two familiar voices talking as they made their way down the hall. In a few seconds, two mares made their way down the stairs and into the main room of the shop. They stopped upon seeing Octavia sitting there, both falling silent almost immediately.

"Hello Twilight, Fluttershy." Octavia greeted, smiling at both mares.

"H-hello, Octavia." Fluttershy said in her usual shy mannerism.

"Hey there, Tavi." Twilight said, walking towards Octavia, "What're you up to?"

"I needed to grab something for Vinyl and I to eat, so I thought I'd stop in here and pick something up." Tavi replied, "What about you two?"

"Well, Fluttershy here needed to return Gummy to Pinkie, and I needed to talk to them both, so we just came together." Twilight said, Fluttershy nodding behind her.

"How is Pinkie?" Tavi inquired, "I haven't seen her in some time."

"She's getting better, but still not doing all that great." Twilight said.

"Sort of sounds like the way Vinyl is right now..." Tavi said, her thoughts wandering back to her friend at home.

"Applejack told me that she was doing fairly well today." Fluttershy said softly, causing both Tavi and Twilight to turn their attention towards the yellow pegasus, "She said that she actually was able to sit and talk to her for a little while."

"That's good." Octavia said, relieved that her friend had been doing alright so far that day, "At least she's doing a little better now..."

As Octavia finished her sentence, Mr. Cake came back out from the kitchen, a pink box tied up with some twine in his teeth.

"Here you go, Octavia." he said after setting the box down on the counter.

"Thank you very much." Tavi said, approaching the counter and pulling her bag of bits out, "How much do I owe you for it?"

"Tell you what," Mr. Cake said, glancing around the shop, "I'll cover you for this one."

"Are you certain?" Octavia asked, setting her wallet on the counter, "I can pay for it. It's not like I'm short on money or anything."

"I know." Mr. Cake replied, smiling a little, "If it's to help you and Vinyl out, then you don't need to pay for it. Take this one on the house."

Octavia smiled back at Mr. Cake, who winked at her.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Cake." she said, grabbing the cake and placing it on her back.

"Not a problem, Tavi." he said, waving at her as she turned around and began to make for the door, Twilight and Fluttershy following close behind, "Have a good night you three!"

As they made their way out of the shop, they all noticed the sun had completed its decent for the night, giving way for Luna's moon and stars to grace the skies, bathing everything in a bright silvery light.

"Well, I'd better get back home." Fluttershy said, taking to the air and hovering just above the ground, "It's getting late, and my animals need to be tended to for the night. I'll talk to you girls later."

Tavi and Twilight said goodbye to the pegasus as she made her way back to her own home. Together, the two mares made their way back through town, chatting as they walked.

"... and so, Sweetie Belle said that she and her parents had been in a little fight at the boutique, so she just ran out into the rainstorm." Twilight recanted, telling Octavia all about how she'd found the little white filly the day before, "She refuses to talk to Rarity or her parents right now, and she doesn't want to go home, so I'm keeping her at the library."

"Rarity came to check up on her though, right?" Octavia inquired.

"She did. But, Sweetie hid once she heard Rarity's voice. Nothing I did could convince her to come out and see her sister." Twilight said, a look of concern painting her face, "With as upset as Rarity's been this last week, that can't be helping..."

"I'm sure Sweetie will get over this eventually." Octavia said, "She's just dealing with the grief in her own way. We all are."

"It just pains me to see those two like this." Twilight stated, looking up to see her library before her, "Hopefully this'll get resolved soon."

The two mares stopped as they arrived at the front door to the tree. Twilight turned back to Octavia, biting her lip a little in a nervous fashion.

"Tavi, I'm..." Twilight said hesitantly, staring into Octavia's violet eyes with her own, "I'm so sorry all this happened... If I'd known that... that they'd send him back..."

"Twilight, don't do this to yourself." Octavia said firmly, "It's not your fault. You had no idea that he'd be able to do what he did. You did everything you thought was right. It's just... sometimes things don't work out the way we think they ought to..."

"It certainly seems so..."

Octavia moved towards Twilight, wrapping her forelegs around her and hugging her lightly. Twilight returned the gesture, holding Octavia close and lightly rubbing her back. After a short time, the two mares broke the embrace and stepped back, both with smiles on their faces.

"Have a good night, Octavia." Twilight said.

"Same to you, dear." Octavia replied, turning around and heading away, "Make sure to say hello to Sweetie for me."

Octavia made her way back to her own home, walking through the now fairly empty streets of Ponyville. As she reached her destination, she noticed all the lights upstairs were off. _Perhaps she's downstairs waiting for me or something_ Tavi thought as she approached her front door. She looked down towards the entry mat to see the local paper, the Ponyville Express, glaring up at her, a large picture of Filthy Rich on the cover. Octavia scoffed at the sight before opening the door and making her way inside the house.

"Vinyl, dear," she called, looking all around for any sight of her cream colored friend, "I'm home and I got us something to eat."

Silence answered the gray mare. She made her way further into the room, heading towards the kitchen and placing the cake on the table.

"Vinyl? Where are you?"

Again, no answer came. Octavia walked back out into the living room, looking everywhere she could for any sign of the unicorn. As she reached the center of the room, she noticed a bright, beautiful bouquet of all different types of flowers laying on the ground, a puddle of water below them and pieces of a colorful, broken vase sitting amidst the greenery.

"Flowers?" Octavia mused, making her way over to examine the scene, "Where in the world..."

Looking at the sight before her, she felt a hint of worry for Vinyl enter her mind. It wasn't like Vinyl to just leave a mess like this lying around, even if she was upset. _Perhaps she's not here_ Octavia thought, suddenly imagining her friend wandering the streets of Ponyville alone and in a compromised emotional state. However, she remembered seeing that the lights upstairs were off, more often than not an indication that Vinyl was asleep in her room. Making her way up the stairs, she made for Vinyl's room, seeing the door cracked open slightly.

"Vinyl, are you in here?" she asked softly, opening the door all the way and stepping inside.

Vinyl sat in a chair in front of her window, her back to Octavia as she stared out at the night sky. Tavi breathed a small sigh of relief to see that her friend was still home and looked to be alright. Slowly, the gray mare approached her friend in the chair.

"Vinyl," she said as she came up to the chair, "I have dinner for us if you're hungry."

"Thanks Tavi." Vinyl said rather dreamily, "I'll be down in a minute... The moon's so pretty tonight, isn't it? Luna did a good job raising it."

"I suppose she did." Octavia said confusedly, stepping closer to Vinyl.

"You know, I still remember the first time Josh and I sat and watched the sunset together..." Vinyl said, swaying a little in her seat, "It was the most romantic thing I'd ever experienced... When's he coming back anyway?"

"Vinyl..." Tavi said, now truly concerned for her friend, "He's..."

Octavia stopped mid sentence as she stepped in something cold and wet. She looked down to see a large, dark puddle underneath Vinyl, along with what looked like a shard of colorful glass. Every now and then, the pool would ripple, as if something was dropping into it from above.

"Vinyl..." the gray mare said, looking back up to her friend.

The unicorn turned around suddenly, revealing herself to Octavia, who put a hoof over her mouth in shock. Vinyl's coat was extremely pale, her eyes bloodshot, making them almost completely red. Tavi stepped back in horror as she noticed the mare before her was trembling violently as well.

"Tavi," Vinyl said slowly, raising her forelegs to examine them, "my fetlocks hurt a little bit."

Tavi's frightened stare moved to Vinyl's fetlocks where two huge gashes were present, painting the cream colored fur a dark, shiny crimson. Blood continued to flow from the grotesque wounds, joining the small pool already on the floor. Octavia was frozen in terror as she looked upon her hurt friend, who slid off the chair and onto the floor, shaking with the effort of trying to hold up her weakened body.

"Vinyl!" Octavia said, rushing over to the mare and attempting to help steady her, "What... how..."

"I'm gonna take a nap now, Tavi..." Vinyl said, her eyelids falling closed, "Wake me up when Josh gets home..."

With that, Vinyl collapsed to the floor and slipped into unconsciousness, Octavia calling her name loudly as darkness overtook her mind.


	8. Chapter 8: Revelation

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 8: Revelation

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 8: Revelation

Octavia sat in the waiting room of Ponyville Hospital, her mind racing after the events that had transpired only a few hours ago. After Vinyl collapsed from her copious blood loss, Tavi grabbed the wounded unicorn and immediately took her to the hospital. Upon Vinyl being admitted, Octavia had no choice but to sit in the waiting room, constantly worrying about the state of her friend. Even in her sleep deprived frame of mind, the gray mare found it impossible to get any sort of rest as she continued to think about Vinyl and what she had done to herself.

One question had been lingering on the cellist's mind all night as she'd sat there, unable to do anything more than simply hope that her unicorn friend would be alright: what had caused Vinyl to do this to herself? Certainly, she had been extremely upset over the course of the last week. Who wouldn't if they had just lost the love of their life? But, even with as distraught as she had been, Vinyl had never attempted anything like this, even at her lowest of low points. It just didn't make sense to Octavia how her best friend could come up with an idea as rash as committing suicide.

Tavi's ruminating was interrupted as she heard somepony calling her name from what seemed like a great distance away. Looking around, she soon saw a nurse standing nearby, a clipboard in her magical grip.

"Could you repeat that?" Octavia asked, sitting up in her chair a little.

"You're Octavia Philharmonica, correct?" the nurse said, checking her clipboard momentarily.

"Yes, I am." Tavi replied, "You're here about Vinyl?"

"Yes." the nurse said gently, turning and making for the nearby double doors, "If you'd like to, you can go in and see her."

Octavia nodded and slid off her chair onto the floor. Her joints ached from the way she was sitting, as did the muscles in her legs. Slowly, gingerly, the gray mare followed the nurse through the doors and into the hall beyond.

"How is she?" Octavia asked as the doors closed behind them, "Is she doing alright?"

"She lost a lot of blood." the nurse said, genuine concern in her words, "You're lucky you got her to us when you did. A few more minutes, and she... Well, let's just say it wouldn't have turned out so well."

Octavia said nothing to that, not wanting to even consider thinking about the consequences of what would have happened should she have been too late.

"She's stable now though." the nurse continued, turning a corner with Octavia in tow, "We were able to stop the bleeding just in time. She'll most likely always have those scars on her fetlocks though. The poor girl cut herself pretty deep."

"Will she be able to come home soon?" Octavia inquired as two other nurses passed her going the opposite direction in the hall.

The nurse next to her suddenly stopped, causing Octavia to do the same. As the gray mare looked to the white coated nurse, she saw a nervous look on her face.

"That could be a bit of an issue here." the nurse said tentatively, "The evidence is clear that this wasn't some sort of an accident. What she did was intentional, and it raises a lot of questions about her mental health."

"She lost her lover!" Octavia said forcefully, glaring at the nurse, "Of course she's not in her right state of mind!"

"And I understand. But... hospital policy says that she has to be placed on suicide watch for the next seventy two hours."

"Seventy two hours?!" Octavia said loudly, stamping her hoof angrily, "She can't be in the hospital for three days by herself like that!"

"Look, Ms. Philharmonica," the nurse said cautiously, "I'd love to be able to send her home. In fact, if I had my way, she'd be checking out with you right now and be on her way. But, I can't go over the heads of the doctors and psychiatrists. You have to understand that."

Octavia let out a sigh of frustration and defeat. She hated to admit it, but the nurse was right. For her to try and usurp the word of those above her would more than likely cause her to lose her job, and may even land Octavia herself in a bit of trouble that she just didn't need right now. Her concern for Vinyl was extremely strong, but there just wasn't a whole lot that could be done in this situation that wouldn't result in somepony getting put in a very bad spot.

"Tell you what," the nurse continued, placing a hoof on Octavia's shoulder, "I'll talk to somepony and see if I can't pull some strings for you. I can't make any guarantees, but maybe I can have her released early."

Octavia smiled at the nurse, who returned her look.

"Thank you very much." Tavi said.

"Not a problem, Ms. Philharmonica." the nurse said, turning to the nearby door and opening it with her magic, "She's just in here. Take all the time you need to see her."

Octavia thanked the nurse once more and made her way into the room, looking to the bed at the front and seeing Vinyl sitting up. The unicorn looked towards the entryway, flattening her ears and growing a concerned look once she saw her cellist friend make her way in. Tavi smiled sweetly as she entered further into the room, slowly heading towards her friend in the bed.

Vinyl's body had been draped in the typical teal garb of a hospital patient, an IV dangling from a nearby stand placed into her foreleg. Both of her fetlocks had thick bandages all around them, light spots of crimson showing through the deeper layers. As Octavia entered the room, Vinyl seemed to shrink in fear, clearly not wanting to confront her friend about what happened the night before that landed her in the hospital.

"Hello, Vinyl." Tavi said gently, walking up next to her friend's bed, "Are you alright?"

Vinyl peered into Octavia's eyes as her own began to fill with tears.

"Tavi..." she said lightly, her tone uneven and her voice shaking, "I... I'm so sorry..."

Vinyl heaved and began to sob openly, tears flowing from her brilliant crimson-magenta eyes as she covered them with her hooves. Octavia reached her own hoof up and gently placed it on the unicorn's leg, feeling her own tears making their journey towards freedom.

"Vinyl, sweetheart..." Tavi said, trying to maintain a steady and calm tone as she comforted her friend, "It's... I don't understand why you did what you did, but I'm not angry at you for it."

Vinyl removed her hooves from her eyes and looked up to Tavi, droplets trailing down her face and matting her fur. Octavia tried her best to give the unicorn a reassuring smile, despite her own tears beginning to fall from her violet eyes. The gray mare reached up and hugged her friend tightly, allowing Vinyl to cry into her shoulder as she did the same to the cream colored mare. Together, the two of them sat there, openly crying, but relishing the fact that they still had one another in the moments when they needed support the most.

"Vinyl..." Tavi said after some time, breaking the embrace and wiping her eyes, "I need to know... what happened?"

Vinyl sniffled hard and tried to control her breathing once more, with little luck. After a few minutes, however, she managed to steady herself and swallowed hard.

"I... I was at home. I didn't know when you'd get back, so I just waited around for you." Vinyl began, her voice still trembling hard as she spoke, "The doorbell rang and w-when I went to go answer it, all I saw was that vase of flowers. At first I thought they were just sympathy flowers from Roseluck... but when I brought them inside and saw the card attached..."

Vinyl broke down once more, trembling harder than ever as she tried to continue speaking. Tavi rested a hoof on her leg in an attempt to help comfort her.

"Who were they from?" Octavia asked gently.

"Oh Tavi... They... They w-were from him!" Vinyl wailed, "He g-got them for our anniversary!"

Octavia felt her heart plummet as Vinyl broke down heavily, rocking back and forth in her bed as sadness overwhelmed her. Tavi jumped up further on the bed, placing her knees on the edge and wrapping both her forelegs around her best friend as she wailed and sobbed more and more. Tears flowed from the gray mare's eyes once more, hot and stinging tears that fell into Vinyl's mane as she held her close.

"I m-miss him s-so much!" Vinyl wailed, still rocking back and forth, "I w-want him to come home..."

"Vinyl, I want him to come home, too..." Octavia said, unable to maintain any sort of stability as she spoke, "And I'm sure he wants to as much as any of us, but... I don't want to lose you, Vinyl..."

As Tavi released Vinyl, the unicorn locked eyes with her friend once more.

"We all miss him more than anything in this world." Tavi continued, finally able to get her voice under control, "We lost one of the greatest friends any of us has ever had. There's nothing wrong with you being sad about him being gone, dear, but... but I don't want to lose my best friend."

It was Tavi's turn to break down. She covered her eyes and softly cried, her body heaving as she thought about what could have happened had she been too late.

"I... I'm so sorry, Tavi..." Vinyl said, looking upon her distraught friend, "I didn't mean to do it... Once I saw the card, I... I couldn't control myself. I don't even remember doing it... I just remember you coming home and finding me..."

Octavia regained her composure after some time and placed her hoof on Vinyl's, looking into her friend's eyes again.

"Vinyl... I... I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Octavia said, "I love you so much... You're my best friend, and... if he were to ever come back... I don't think I could even begin to explain to him..."

"I-I know, Tavi..." Vinyl said, her voice beginning to steady once more, "I love you too..."

"Josh... he's still out there, and he loves us more than anything in the world." Octavia continued, grasping Vinyl's other hoof in her own free one, "Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he's always thinking about us. I know for a fact that he wouldn't ever want any of us to take measures as drastic as suicide because of him. Especially you, Vinyl. He'd want you to live your life the best you can, even if he's not there to live it with you."

"It's so hard, Tavi..." Vinyl said somberly, sniffling a little, "I've never loved anypony like that before. We were gonna spend the rest of our lives together, I know we were."

"I thought so, too, dear." Octavia said, leaning in closer to her friend, "But, you never know... Maybe he'll come back, one day. If the love between the two of you is as strong and deep as I know it to be, then he'll never stay away. He'll always come back to you."

Vinyl smiled a little at that. Octavia returned that smile and leaned in to embrace her friend once more, hugging her tightly and gently rubbing her back. The events of the night before had been a shock for both mares, to say the least, and it very easily could have ended in tragedy. But, with Celestia's sun now rising up to grace the skies with its presence, a new day was here, and that day promised hope and healing for the future, for both of them.

"Am I interrupting anything here?" came a voice from the nearby doorway.

Octavia and Vinyl broke apart and looked over to see a tall, unicorn stallion standing there, a clipboard floating next to his head.

"Oh... no." Octavia said, settling herself next to Vinyl on the bed again, "We were just... catching up is all."

"I see."

"Do you need something?" Vinyl asked.

"Well... I need to talk to you, Ms. Scratch." he replied.

"About what?" Vinyl inquired.

"When ponies are brought in, we are required to run certain tests to make sure they are healthy."

"What are you saying? Were there any problems?" Octavia asked, now a little worried that there may be something else going on with her friend.

"No, nothing other than the obvious." the doctor reassured, taking a seat in next to the bed where the two mares were.

"Then what's the issue?" Vinyl asked.

"Well... Ms. Scratch, have you been experiencing any nausea or, perhaps, morning sickness?"

"She has recently." Octavia answered, glancing at her friend, "But, I thought that was just from grief."

"Grief?"

"Yeah." Vinyl replied in affirmation, "I've been really upset and that made me sick. I've had it happen before."

"You really think that your illness has been caused by some sort of sadness?" the doctor asked disbelievingly.

"It's fairly common, isn't it?" Tavi asked.

The doctor looked between Octavia and Vinyl, concern painting his face and causing them both to worry about what he might say next.

"It has been known to happen, yes, but... Do you really not know?"

"What's there to know?" Vinyl asked, now becoming slightly annoyed at the doctor's manner.

"All the signs are there." he said matter of factly, "I'd have thought you'd have picked up on it. I mean, most mares know right away."

"Doctor, please." Octavia said, now pleading with the stallion, "Just tell us what's going on."

The doctor set his clipboard down and placed a hoof on the bridge of his snout, clearly trying to find the words to say what he needed to next.

"Ms. Scratch," he began, lowering his hoof and peering back up at Vinyl, "though you may have had a history of sadness related illness, I can assure you that has nothing to do with this."

"Well, then, what is it?! Just tell me already!"

Octavia reached up her hoof and gently placed it on Vinyl's, causing the unicorn to start and down at her friend. Octavia gave her the most comforting smile she could muster, hoping to ease Vinyl's fears. Both mares turned their attention back to the doctor, awaiting whatever it was he had to say.

"For all intents and purposes, it shouldn't even be possible." the doctor began, keeping his eye trained on his clipboard as he spoke, "From what I could gather, human physiology is very, very different from a pony's, especially from a... reproductive standpoint."

Octavia sat in silence for a moment, allowing the doctor's words to sink in. _What could he mean by..._ The gray mare gasped and covered her mouth with her free hoof as realization hit her. She looked to Vinyl once more to see a shocked expression paint her cream colored face. She slumped in her bed a little as the truth washed over her, causing her to tear up once again.

"D-do you mean that I'm..."

"Yes, Ms. Scratch, you're pregnant."


	9. Chapter 9: Replacement

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

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Chapter 9: Replacement

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 9: Replacement

Mayor Mare sat in her office along with Twilight, who had come down to talk with her about Vinyl's admittance to the hospital the night before. The last few weeks had been stressful beyond all belief for the mayor, who was still dealing with an unbelievable amount of backlash from the events of the trial over a week ago. Neither she nor anypony else could have guessed that that trial would have ended the way it did, and if she had to be honest with herself, Mayor wished that she had put a stop to all the insanity that had occurred in the last few weeks. Now, however, she could do nothing more than live with the regret of not acting when the moment was right and merely standing idly by as things took turn after turn for the worse.

She had been very worried about Vinyl in the time since the trial, and had even stopped by several times to check on her and make sure she was alright. When Twilight had come into her office and told her about the producer's attempt at suicide, she was going to make sure the first thing she did when her meeting was over was to go down to the hospital and visit with Vinyl to make sure she was alright. With as shocked as she'd been to hear about the mare's attempt to take her own life, what Twilight revealed to her next was the most unexpected thing she could have imagined to come out of the whole mess of a situation.

"She's pregnant? With his child?"

"That's what Tavi told me." Twilight said, nodding, "Apparently, the doctor was able to run a few tests, and the fetus is a match. It's Josh's."

"Is that even possible?" Mayor Mare inquired, still somewhat reeling from what Twilight had told her prior.

"Apparently so." Twilight responded, clearly giving the matter some thought of her own, "The odds are that, since Vinyl is a unicorn, she could have used her magic to match his chromosome count to hers. If that's the case, then it would be no different than if a stallion were to have impregnated her."

"I didn't know unicorns had that much power." Mayor stated, her face the picture of awe, "So, what is she going to do? She doesn't strike me as the kind of mare who would want to raise a foal on her own."

"I was wondering that myself..." Twilight responded, trailing off as she thought on the matter for a moment, "I mean, to have a foal of her own would be such a blessing, but, with as emotionally unstable as she is, I don't know that she could handle having to raise the baby on her own."

"She won't be truly alone, so long as she has friends like you to help her, I think she can make it through this."

Twilight smiled warmly at Mayor as silence fell. Mayor stood up from her seat and walked over to the nearby window, peering out of it to the bustling city center below. Twilight followed her, taking her place beside the mare and mimicking her actions.

"I don't know what you'll do about Filthy Rich, though." Mayor said after a short time, turning to look at Twilight, "If he hears about this, there's no way he won't try to make a go at the foal."

"Octavia said that she's going to talk to some of us about that tomorrow." the lavender mare responded, "She asked the doctor not to tell anypony else about this, and he assured her that only he had known anything about it before he'd told them."

"Good. Secrecy is an absolute necessity at this point." Mayor Mare said.

As the two mares stood in front of the window, a knock sounded from the door, causing them both to turn their attention towards it.

"Am I interrupting another appointment of yours?" Twilight asked as Mayor Mare made her way back over to her desk.

"I wasn't supposed to have anypony else in here for another hour." Mayor said as she took her seat once more, "Who could that possibly-"

Just as Mayor Mare was about to finish her thought, the door swung open and in sauntered Filthy Rich, his usual smug look firmly in place. Upon realizing who was entering, Twilight rushed over to stand in front of Mayor's desk, leveling her glare at the stallion before her.

"What are you doing here, Filthy?" she growled, not once taking her eyes off him as he made his way over to her.

"Am I not allowed to enter a public space such as this, Ms. Sparkle?" he asked, stopping short of the lavender mare, "The mayor's office is no more off limits to me than my own home, as I'm sure you're well aware."

"And as I'm sure you're aware, Filthy, it's best to have an appointment before you just barge in here." Mayor spat from behind her desk, venom dripping from her words, "Simply because you've caused this town to lose all sense of civility doesn't mean you have the right to act the same here."

"I merely made them see the truth, my dear Mayor." Filthy replied, ignoring Mayor Mare's harsh tone, "They needed to know, and just because you wouldn't tell them doesn't mean that somepony else wouldn't."

"You spread lies!" Twilight countered, unable to control her volume as she spoke, "You extorted the princesses and ruined the lives of two innocent people!"

"Ms. Sparkle, I may have been somewhat harsh and forthright with my words and actions in this matter, but I would never stoop so low as to spread lies!" Filthy said, now glaring back at Twilight, "If you don't believe what I said, then feel free to talk to your 'teacher' about what she knows. After all, she watched him long before transporting him here."

Twilight could find no words to bring to bear against the monster that stood before her, and instead found solace in attempting to incinerate it with her glare. Feeling satisfied that she was done raving at him, Filthy turned back to Mayor.

"So, why exactly are you here?" asked Mayor, "If it's just to gloat, then you can just see yourself out. I've seen enough of you and your followers reveling in your so-called 'victory' here. I don't need to experience it in my own office."

"Actually, Mayor Mare, that's far from why I'm here." he responded, stepping closer to her desk and looking her in her eyes, "However, my victory does have a little to do with this."

Twilight and Mayor exchanged glances of concern before turning their attention back to Filthy.

"You see, while I may have... vilified the princesses to a degree, their contributions to this country are ones even my words cannot tarnish." Filthy began, pacing back and forth slowly as he spoke, "I was able to talk to my supporters and convince them to regain their trust in our rulers. After all, Celestia clearly made up for her mistake of bringing him here, and I reminded them that if not for her and her sister, we wouldn't have the glorious nation we have now."

Filthy stopped his pacing and turned back to Mayor Mare and Twilight, his gaze falling hard upon them both.

"However, I'm afraid I wasn't so fortunate in redeeming you, Ms. Mayor."

"What do you mean?" asked Mayor Mare, her gaze softening and her eyes showing a glint of fear.

"Well, you did very little to aid our cause, save for putting him in a cell after he attacked me." Filthy continued, "That doesn't look very good to them, and though you were there in a judicial sense, that doesn't change the fact you were a supporter of him all throughout this fiasco."

"So what if she was?" Twilight protested, stepping closer to Filthy as she addressed him, "My friends and I supported him too, but I don't see you sending your squads after us!"

"It's very different, Twilight." Filthy said, "You're not in a political position of power like she is. A position that, might I add, is far from permanent."

Twilight heard a small gasp escape from Mayor and turned to see her with a hoof covering her mouth in shock. Looking back to Filthy, she saw another smirk cover his face.

"I see you and I are on the same page here, Ms. Mare." Filthy said, walking over behind the desk.

"What are you getting at, Filthy?" Twilight asked, confused by Mayor Mare's actions and even more so by Filthy suddenly addressing her as "Ms. Mare."

"You see, Ms. Sparkle, the citizens of Ponyville have spoken, and, as it stands right now, Mayor Mare has been deemed unfit to lead this town." Filthy said simply, a devilish smile covering his face.

"What?!" Twilight screamed, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Mayor slid off her chair and onto the floor, her eyes welling up with tears as she sat on the ground, a stunned look distorting her features. Filthy just continued to smile at her as Twilight rushed around to the other side of the desk and embraced the other mare in attempt to console her.

"There's no way this is legal!" Twilight shouted as Mayor Mare turned around and began to cry into her shoulder, "You can't just have her kicked out of office like that!"

"Ms. Sparkle, we may live under a monarchy, but our town runs on a democracy, and that allows us certain freedoms, including having a hand in electing our public officials. The ponies of Ponyville have spoken, and clearly, they don't want her running this town anymore."

"But if we don't have Mayor Mare here, then who's going to be mayor?" Twilight inquired as she held the crying mare.

"Need you even ask?" Filthy said, his smile crushing any hope Twilight had for a positive outcome.

"No! No bucking way! Not you!" Twilight shrieked as Mayor Mare cried even harder, "You can't just step in here and take over as mayor! You have to be elected!"

"That's what you think." Filthy retorted, taking his place behind the mayor's desk, "The power to remove an official from office is just one liberty the ponies of this town have. Have you heard of an election petition?" Filthy took the particularly nasty glare he received from the unicorn as confirmation that she indeed had. "Then I assume you know what comes next."

Twilight stared at Filthy with a mix of disgust, devastation, and rage as she realized she was powerless to do anything against the stallion now. Mayor Mare eventually released herself from the lavender unicorn's embrace and galloped out the door as fast as she could, sobbing heavily as she exited and headed down the hallway. Twilight followed her to the door and watched the tan mare disappear around a corner.

"It's a shame it had to end like this." Filthy said simply, leaning back in his chair, "She was an excellent mayor before she started supporting such trash mucking about in our town."

Twilight turned back to the stallion behind the desk, her heart racing as anger overwhelmed her. She ran up to the desk and practically jumped up on top of it, feeling all the hatred she felt for Filthy Rich boiling over.

"You hateful, spiteful, evil bastard!" she screamed, spit flying from her mouth as she began her tirade, "How can you sleep at night knowing what you've done?! You tore apart two lovers, threw out one of Ponyville's finest and oldest leaders, and extorted the very beings who rule this land we live in! Why Celestia didn't just send you to the bucking moon for your actions, I'll never know! You deserve nothing less than to burn in the lowest ring of Tartarus for what you've done, and even if the entirety of Ponyville were to go against me, I'd gladly expedite the process of you getting there! You are a weak, evil, hateful, monstrous coward whose only reason for becoming mayor was so that you could gloat over the horrible things you've done!"

Filthy raised an eyebrow as Twilight finished her revilement of him. The lavender mare stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as her anger continued to flow, causing her to tear up a little.

"My, my, Ms. Sparkle." Filthy calmly said, a slight chuckle escaping his throat as she addressed Twilight, "I'd have thought that, as Celestia's "faithful student," you'd know what self control is and how to use it properly. It appears I was wrong."

Twilight continued to stare at Filthy angrily as hot tears began to trail down her face. After what she'd said to him, she expected the stallion to do the same, to verbally attack her just as she had only a moment ago. However, all he did was sit there, the same smirk on his face as before.

"Now you listen here, you little bitch." he said suddenly, his voice quiet and full of malice, "I don't give a damn what you think of me or my policies. Last time I checked, I won, and you and your little human friend lost. You may not see what I did as an act of kindness, but believe me when I say I saved this town a whole lot of trouble, and I may have even saved him. You can stand there all day long and berate me as much as you like, but the fact is I run this town now, and there's not a thing you can do to stop me. And, just in case you do try, keep in mind that there's a cell in Ponyville jail that'll be kept nice and warm for you."

Twilight stepped back from the desk upon hearing Filthy finish his own tirade. She just stared at him with fear and anger in her tear filled eyes, unable to believe how he'd become such a tyrant when he'd seemed so docile before.

"Now get out of my office, before I have you collected." Filthy said, sitting back in his chair once more.

Twilight, unable to find anything meaningful to say, turned and stormed out the door, galloping down the hall as steadily as she could through her tear-clouded vision. After making her way outside, she finally collapsed near the building and broke into sobs, her chest heaving violently. She couldn't believe how things could go from bad to worse so suddenly; how the citizens of Ponyville would have to live under a monster like Filthy Rich from now on. At that very moment, all hope for any sort of peace seemed lost, and Twilight felt as helpless as she had during the trial.

Josh sat in a chair off to the left side of the stage, trying his best not to nod off to sleep as the crew set up all the sound equipment and stage decorations for the show the next night. The young man's exhausted state had been brought about by a sudden uneasy feeling that had plagued him all through the night, making sleep almost an impossibility. He had no clue as to what caused him to feel like that in the first place, and even less of an idea as to how to get the sensation to go away. The few times he did manage to go to sleep, it was only for an hour at a time, if even that. It wasn't until that morning that the odd feeling went away, allowing Josh only a brief moment of respite before he had to go with Liam and Syd to the pavilion where the show would be held to keep an eye on the setup.

Once Liam saw how miserable Josh looked, he'd insisted that the young man stay and rest, assuring Josh that he and Syd could handle everything with no problems. Josh contemplated staying in his room and sleeping for awhile, but insisted on going along with them, even if he was tired. Liam again tried to talk him out of it, only to finally give in once it seemed Josh was resolute in his decision. Together, the two old friends and Syd made their way over to the campus of UNLV, heading for the basketball court where the show was supposed to be held. Upon arriving, Liam and Syd went off together to speak to the university president and venue manager, leaving Josh to stay by himself and watch as the crew members ran all around, chatting idly as they placed the equipment and decorations on the stage and wired everything up.

Josh managed to stave off passing out one more time before hearing a voice from behind him.

"You alright, mate?" Liam asked, causing Josh to turn around in his seat, "You looked like you were gonna fall asleep again there."

"I'm fine." Josh lied, standing up and stretching in an attempt to wake himself up even further, "Besides, I've managed to stay awake this whole time so far."

"What exactly happened that made you lose sleep anyway?" Liam asked, stopping short of Josh as Syd followed close behind him, "Was it a dream or something? You weren't real specific when I asked you about it earlier."

"I don't know, L." Josh said simply, "Right as I was about to go to bed, I got this weird feeling in my stomach, like that feeling you get when you're really nervous about something. It just came out of nowhere, and I wasn't able to shake it till morning for whatever reason."

"Hmm..." Liam mused, putting his hand to his chin in contemplation, "That is odd. What were you nervous about?"

"That's just it." Josh said, "I wasn't. I just started to feel it, and it persisted all night. I've never had that happen before, not even when... well..."

Liam reached out and patted Josh on the shoulder as the young man trailed off. Josh looked into Liam's eyes and saw genuine concern there, one that he'd become so used to in the last few weeks as he'd been incarcerated in Ponyville and sent back to earth.

"I'm sorry, pal." Liam said sincerely, "Perhaps it's just stress finally getting to you. God knows you've dealt with enough of that recently. You know, if you need anything to help you sleep, I can get you a few sleep aids."

"I think I'll be alright." Josh said, smiling a little at Liam, "Maybe it is just stress."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Well, alright then." Liam said, turning back to the setup on the stage before him, "How'd things go over here? Everything get done?"

"As far as I can tell they did." Josh answered, following Liam as he made his way over look at the sound equipment.

"No equipment casualties?"

"I didn't see any if there were."

"Well, that's all in order then." Liam said simply, stepping back and looking to the computer and mixer area where Syd was standing, "Hey, Syd. Throw down a beat for us real quickly, would you? I'd like to make sure everything's working properly before we come back out to rehearse tonight."

Syd nodded before turning back to his controller and beginning to get things powered up.

"You never had me do that for our shows after setup was done." Josh said, chuckling a little.

"I never had to worry about your setup because you refused to let anyone else wire up the speakers." Liam said, smirking a little.

Josh thought back to when he was still performing before. It was very true that he rarely allowed anyone else besides himself to even touch the equipment, let alone wire it up. Part of it was a type of anal retentiveness that he'd always had as a producer and DJ, having had to learn all the equipment and how it went together. He'd gotten better about that issue in Equestria, but was always still very reluctant to allow others to touch and wire the speakers and everything else he needed. On more than one occasion early on in his time there, he'd shown up to the hotel late or had Vinyl come and retrieve him as he would check and double check that everything was up and running properly.

Josh and Liam stood side by side as Syd laid down a trap style bassline, blasting the heavy beat through the speakers nearby. As the track played, Josh noticed a slight distortion in the sound coming from the large speaker on the opposite side of the stage. Walking over to it, he stood in front of the device and listened closer, hearing a faint bit of static issuing forth. He looked over to Syd and gave him the signal to stop the music, which Syd did immediately.

"Is there something wrong here?" a voice behind Josh asked.

Turning around, he found himself standing before a large, tall man with short blonde hair and very dark blue eyes. The man had his arms crossed and was staring down at Josh from his vantage point with a look that could wilt a plant.

"Yeah, there sorta is." Josh said as politely as he could, "There's quite a bit of static coming out of this particular speaker. I noticed it almost as soon as Syd started the track."

"I didn't hear anything." the man replied flatly and with a thick German accent, "Maybe you're going crazy or something like that."

"That's probably not far from the truth." Josh joked, hoping it'd soften the man's demeanor towards him.

Unfortunately, it only caused the man to glare hard down at the young man before him.

"That's not the sub that Dom dropped, is it?" Syd called out, turning to look at someone behind him, "You motherfucker! That's coming out of your paycheck!"

"No, this isn't that speaker." Josh answered, kneeling down to look at the device, "I already fixed that one earlier... If I can just..."

Gently pushing the speaker to one side, he glanced at the back, carefully scanning the wiring for any sign of damage or an out of place cord. After a few seconds of looking over the wiring and not finding anything wrong he stood back up and made his way over to the mixer and other equipment on the table. Almost immediately, he spotted the issue at hand and turned back to Syd and the man.

"It's been plugged into the wrong port here." Josh said, glancing between the two, "That plug should go there, not there. It's dimming the sound on that side otherwise and making it seem off-balance."

"And just how the fuck can you know that?" the large man asked, strolling over to the board and glaring at Josh once again, "Last time I checked, you're nothing more than a go for for L over there. I'm the equipment manager here, and I wired that thing myself. If there's one thing I know, it's how to do my goddamn job."

"I'm not saying that you don't know how to do your job, man." Josh said, taken aback at the sudden hostility that this man was demonstrating towards him, "I was just pointing out a slight error. People make that mistake all the time. It's not a big deal, and I don't see why you're so upset by it."

"I'm upset by it because I don't need some pretty boy, wannabe manager coming in here and trying to show me up just because he's not allowed on the real team."

"Frank, what the fuck?" Liam interjected, causing both Frank and Josh to turn their attention towards him, "Josh hasn't done anything to you. Stop being a prick."

"Don't defend him just because you decided to take pity on him and give him a job, L." Frank continued, turning his enraged glare back to Josh, "He's not here to do my job or anyone elses. That means he ought to stay out of our shit, and just keep on getting you coffee or whatever else like a good boy."

Frank turned away and made his way to the opposite end of the stage, leaving Josh to stand there, fuming at what had just happened. _Go figure_ he thought, watching Frank's hulking form move away _People are still fucking unbearable here_. Turning back to the equipment before him, he suddenly got an idea, one that would take the stick up Frank's ass and force it up even further.

"Syd," he said, turning back to the young man next to him, "drop a beat again."

"Uh... are you sure?" Syd asked, "Shouldn't we fix the sound problem first?"

"Just do it." Josh said, smirking evilly, "I have a plan for that."

Looking back to Frank as the tall German made his way off the stage, Josh called out to him, "Hey, Frank! Hold up for a sec!"

Frank stopped upon hearing Josh's voice and looked back to see the young man give a signal to Syd. Instantly, the same heavy, trap style bassline issued forth from the speakers, making the stage actually begin to rumble as Josh had Syd turn up the volume on all the speakers. Josh motioned for Frank to come back over and stand in front of him, which he did extremely reluctantly.

"Now, listen to the distortion in that speaker." Josh called out through the loud sound.

Frank shook his head, either indicating that he didn't hear the static, or that he hadn't heard Josh at all.

"Can't hear it?" Josh asked, gripping the wire to the speaker on the board in his hand, "How about now?"

Yanking hard, Josh pulled out the plug, causing a loud pop to sound from the nearby speaker. The gunshot-like noise caused everyone but Josh to duck and cover their ears, especially Frank, who almost fell on his backside with the speed he crouched down. Syd instinctively stopped the music upon hearing the pop, staring at Josh as he did so.

"What the fuck was that about?!" he asked, sticking a finger in his ear and twirling it around.

Josh didn't answer, instead plugging the wire in his hand back in its proper place.

"Drop it again, Syd." he said, never once taking his eyes off Frank as the huge man stood back up.

"You gonna pull another fucking wire out like that if I do?" Syd asked angrily.

"Just do it."

Syd frowned, but nonetheless still hit play on the track. The sound that now came out of the speaker was crystal clear and perfect, causing Josh to smirk once again at Frank, who had just managed to regain his bearings and was staring at the subwoofer.

"Sounds much better, doesn't it?" Josh asked smugly, motioning for Syd to stop the track again.

After a few moments of absolute silence as he stared at the device before him in a disbelieving way, he turned back to Josh, a look of anger painting his face.

"Perhaps before you get so worried about me taking your job, you'd better learn how to do it yourself." Josh said, glaring up into Frank's face, "Don't get your shorts in a goddamn bunch just because someone's trying to help you out with something and being nice about it. Not once in the entire time I talked to you about the speaker did I say anything about your skill or that I was here to take your job. You were the one so paranoid about nothing that you acted like a complete chuckle fuck to me when I was just trying to be helpful."

Frank's glare intensified as Josh finished speaking. The young man just stared fearlessly back at the gigantic behemoth before him, intent on attempting to out-intimidate Frank.

"Let me take a guess as to why you're such a jerkoff here for a second, if I may." Josh began, watching as Frank's face became more and more red with anger, "I'm gonna hazard that back in your own country, you were nothing but a puke, a half-wit, slack-jawed, knuckle dragging rave club bouncer who couldn't hack it as a real DJ. You're angry and bitter because you suck so bad at what you'd done before, and more than likely, you got fucking fired for messing up someone else's equipment before this. So, you took a job on some godforsaken loading dock and saved up enough money to make your way to America and managed to con L here into thinking you're more than just a walking muscle whose only talent is to stand outside some black doors and check the ID of every slut and moron who wants to get in that club and use the bathroom to get loaded."

By this point, Josh was honestly worried that the hulking German before him would vault over the table and attempt to use him as a toothpick. However, even as he shook with rage, Frank just continued to stand there, not saying a single thing but breathing so hard it seemed he might hyperventilate.

After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence all around, Liam spoke up, drawing Josh's attention away from Frank.

"Josh," he began, approaching the young man and placing a hand on his shoulder, "I think you just need to take a breather, alright? You've not slept well, and you're irritable. Come on, and I'll take you back to the hotel."

Josh stared at Liam for a second, watching as his eyes darted between his old friend and the angry man on the other side of the table. Upon recognizing the usual look of concern on Liam's face, he nodded and made his way off to the other side of the stage, Liam following close behind, leaving everyone else in a stunned silence.

"I swear to God, mate," Liam said, taking his place next to Josh as the two made their way into the lobby of the building, "you've got a fucking death wish if you're talking shit to Frank like that."

"If he was gonna hit me for what I said, he already would have." Josh said flatly, the adrenaline coursing through his veins tapering out slowly, "Besides, I'm not gonna take shit from anyone for something like that. The whole reason I'm back here is because I didn't stand up for myself and my friends when I had the chance. I'm not letting that happen ever again."

Liam stopped as they reached the front doors of the lobby, causing Josh to do the same and turn his attention towards his English friend.

"Josh..." Liam began, stammering a little and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "I... Well, I don't really understand your situation. But, I can assure you that I do sympathize with you. Nobody deserves to have to deal with the shit you've had to deal with in the last few weeks, not even the foulest person on this earth. It's completely justifiable that you don't want to repeat the past here. But, you can't go and be like that, even if Frank is a fucking prick. There's nothing wrong with standing up for yourself, but the last thing you need is to make any enemies, especially with the people you'll be spending the next few months around."

Josh sighed heavily as he thought about Liam's words. He was determined never to let anyone push him around ever again, and he certainly wouldn't allow them to hinder the progress he'd begun to make in his time back home. However, there was a fine line between standing up for himself, and making an ass of himself.

"You're right, L." he said simply, "I just couldn't let him treat me like that. I did get a bit... carried away though."

"Not to worry, mate." Liam assured, patting Josh on the shoulder and leading him out the door to the waiting car and driver, "I'd have done the same thing, I think. Just get back to the hotel and rest up. I don't have anything else for you today anyway. Not anything that I can't take care of myself, at least."

Josh nodded and made his way to the car, opening up the door and climbing in. As soon as he shut the door, the driver took off, making his way back through Las Vegas and out to the hotel. All along the way, Josh couldn't help but be reminded of his time dealing with Filthy Rich back in Equestria. _Never again_ he thought as he stared out the window of the car at all the scenery passing by _I'll never let that happen to me or anyone close to me ever again. I swear on it_.


	10. Chapter 10: Reconciliatiion

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 10: Reconciliation

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 10: Reconciliation

Twilight sat in her room up above the library, feverishly reading a large, leather bound book about Equestrian law. Her eyes moved at what seemed like a million miles an hour as she looked through the tome, hoping desperately to find something at all that she could use to refute Filthy Rich's movement of taking over as mayor of Ponyville. Since the previous day, when he'd come into power, she'd been up all through the night, frantically reading and re-reading the texts she'd looked through before Josh's trial so she could represent him in court. It seemed she couldn't go through each text fast enough at this point, and as she moved from one to the next, her hope began to dwindle rapidly, an issue not helped by her extremely sleep deprived state.

Her usually straight mane and tail were heavily dishevelled, and the bags under her extremely bloodshot eyes were gargantuan, truly speaking to just how hard she'd been working through the night. By this point, her resolve was beginning to break, as each and every word yielded no more a favorable result than the last. She closed the book slowly, rubbing her eyes with a lavender hoof before grabbing the next one in the pile and opening it up. As she did so, the door to her room opened, and she heard the sound of tiny, clawed footsteps making their way towards her on her bed. Her concentration never broke, however, despite her almost wishing it would.

"Um... Twilight... Are you gonna come downstairs and eat?" asked the familiar voice of her dragon assistant, Spike, "You need to get some kind of food in you, since you didn't eat dinner last night..."

Twilight didn't respond, keeping her eyes locked on the pages of the book before her. She wasn't reading though, having all but given up on the prospect of being able to do so the moment her friend spoke to her.

"Twi, come on. I know this is important to you, but it's not healthy for you to just sit up here all day and keep reading like this."

Again, Twilight said nothing, though she did shoot a quick glance to the baby dragon. A look of deep concern painted his face as he stood there, staring at his close friend as she continued to peer into the text before her. Upon seeing his expression, Twilight felt a pang of guilt hit her at knowing she was worrying Spike so much with her incessant reading.

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked, frowning at her a little.

A painful silence was all that followed his words, causing him to sigh dejectedly and turn back to the door. Twilight turned her full attention to the dragon as he headed back towards the entryway, his head hung a little as he walked. The guilt she'd felt before now overwhelmed her and she sighed, closing the book and rubbing her eyes once more.

"Spike... wait." she said, causing the dragon to turn back to her with his clawed hand still on the door.

Slowly, somewhat painfully, Twilight slid off her bed and onto the floor, making her way over to Spike as he stood before the door. She smiled down at her friend wearily, staring deep into the draconic, green eyes she'd grown to know and love since she first saw them. Reaching out, she wrapped her forelegs around the baby dragon and held him closely, lightly squeezing his tiny, violet body. Spike returned her embrace in full, petting her mane gently as she held onto him.

"I'm so sorry I caused you to worry, Spike." she said, releasing her friend and taking a step back, "I just... got a little carried away is all."

"It's alright, Twilight." Spike replied, smiling back up at the tired unicorn, "I know you were just doing what you thought needed to be done."

Twilight smiled down at the little dragon once more. In all the years she'd known her assistant, he'd almost never failed to be there for her when she needed him the most, and this time was no exception. Twilight could always take solace in knowing that when life seemed at its worst and she felt overwhelmed beyond all reason, there would always be a little, purple dragon back at home who cared for her and would do anything he possibly could to ensure that she was alright and happy.

"So," Twilight began, letting out a huge yawn and stretching her sore limbs, "what's for breakfast?"

"Tell you what," Spike said, opening the door slightly and stepping out into the stairwell, "why don't you freshen up and I'll have something for you when you're finished. Sound good?"

"If you say so, Spike." Twilight replied, to which the baby dragon nodded and made his way down the stairs, the lavender mare following shortly afterwards and making her way towards the bathroom.

Twilight stood in the shower for some time, trying with all her might to calm her racing mind as the warm water washed over her form. All night searching through texts she practically had memorized by this point, and not a single thing in anything she'd reviewed seemed to be of any use. _I can't give up searching, but I'm losing hope that there'll be anything we can do at this point_ she thought, feeling the water trail off her back and neck as she stood there _And Celestia only knows what Filthy intends to do as Mayor..._ The unicorn's ruminating was interrupted suddenly by a knock at the door, causing her to look up and through the shower curtain to see if anypony was trying to get into the bathroom.

"Breakfast is ready when you are, Twi." Spike called from outside.

"I'll be right out." Twilight responded, using her magic to turn off the water.

After drying herself off thoroughly, Twilight made her way into the nearby kitchen, a brush in her magical grip, forcing the bristles through her tangled, tri-color mane and tail. As she entered the room, the smell of pancakes hit her hard, causing her to practically salivate as she stood there. Looking over to the table, she saw it laden with her breakfast, a large stack of fluffy, golden brown pancakes, as well as a fresh batch of homemade syrup in a gravy boat for her.

"This all looks phenomenal, Spike." she said, setting her brush down nearby and taking her place across from the baby dragon at the table, "Thank you so much."

"Anything for you, Twilight." Spike said, watching as the lavender mare grabbed the syrup in her magic and began to pour it on the golden stack before her, "I know that the one thing in Equestria that can help you feel better, no matter what, is a nice, big plate of grain and oat pancakes."

Twilight giggled and nodded to her friend before gripping her fork and taking a large, syrupy chunk off the plate and placing it in her mouth, savoring the sweet flavor as it hit her tongue. Only just then did she realize how truly hungry she had been, having not eaten anything the night before after returning from the mayor's office.

Her eating was slow and delicate at first, but soon became more ravenous, with her practically shoving whole, giant pieces of pancake into her mouth. It wasn't until she had finished half the plate of food that she stopped to take a breather and remembered that Spike was even still in the room at all.

"Enjoying yourself?" the baby dragon asked, smirking as Twilight blushed and smiled bashfully.

"Um... yes." Twilight responded, giggling once more.

Spike chuckled a little himself, standing up and making for the cupboard above the sink. He climbed up and grabbed a glass down, jumping from the counter and heading towards the refrigerator.

"By the way, Sweetie Belle already ate earlier, in case you were wondering." Spike said, grabbing the milk carton and filling up the glass.

Twilight swallowed her current bite of breakfast before setting her fork down on the table and staring straight ahead as her mind drifted to thinking about the

little white unicorn filly. Sweetie Belle had been at the library for almost four days now since storming out of Carousel Boutique and running through a torrential downpour. Since she'd arrived, the filly had calmed down considerably and seemed to be feeling much better than she had been at first. However, when Rarity came to the library after hearing that Sweetie was there, the filly ran and hid, refusing to come out and see her sister. This had left Rarity more than heartbroken and Twilight in quite a bind with Sweetie remaining at the library for what seemed like an indeterminate amount of time.

Twilight had no problem with Sweetie staying at the library, knowing that with herself and Spike on the premises almost all hours of the day, they could keep an eye on the filly and make sure she stayed safe. However, she knew how distraught Rarity was without her sister around, especially considering the circumstances in which she left that night. The last thing she wanted right now was to have to become a relay between the two siblings or, worse yet, have one of her best friends resent her for seemingly becoming the preferred guardian for the tiny unicorn. The lavender mare knew that she couldn't force Sweetie to go back to Rarity if she wasn't ready to, but she also couldn't keep her here forever, even if she was able to keep her safe and sound.

"You alright, Twilight?" Spike asked, sitting back down at the table and passing the glass of milk to the mare, "You've got sort of a 'thousand yard stare' thing going on right now."

"Huh?" Twilight responded, shaking her head lightly as Spike's voice brought her out of her thoughts again, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking again is all."

"Maybe you ought to stop thinking for a little while." Spike suggested, "It's already kept you up all night anyway. That's not healthy."

"I know, Spike." Twilight responded warily, her ears falling flat as she slouched in her seat a little, "I almost wish I could. I just... I don't know what to do now..."

"You didn't find anything in the books last night that can help?"

"No, I didn't. And I even re-read a few of them to double check the passages that mentioned governmental operations!" Twilight said, rather loudly, "Every time it seemed I found something useful, the facts turned out to be pointing in his favor. From what I've been able to find so far, what he managed to do is completely legal. And the worst part is, there's nothing that we can do because he holds a majority of the population on his side!"

"There's just gotta be something..." Spike trailed off for a second, "I mean, he can't be mayor! If he decides to turn his power against us and the others, then there'll be nothing we can do."

"Believe me, Spike. You're not the only one worried about that." Twilight stated dejectedly, "I guess we'll just have to hope that it never comes to that."

A heavy silence filled the air as the two friends sat and ruminated on the situation at hoof. The one bit of solace that Twilight could take in all this was that it seemed like Filthy wasn't interested in taking down her or her friends at the moment. However, should he decide to turn the town against them like he had with Josh...

"Why don't you try and contact the princess on this, Twi?" Spike asked, "I mean... She did kind of give in to the pressure at the trial before... But, there'd be no way she'd stand for something like this!"

"I've been trying, Spike." Twilight retorted, sinking even lower in her seat, "She just won't respond. I've sent her a letter every day since the trial hoping that she'd at least attempt to get back to me on this. The only one who's even attempted to try and talk to me at all in Canterlot has been Luna, and even she's not saying much. I'm afraid it looks like we won't have the luxury of going to Celestia this time..."

Spike opened and closed his mouth several times, clearly attempting to find something, anything to say that could be of some help. However, he soon gave up on the prospect and lay his head on the table in defeat. Twilight pressed her ears flat as she saw this, knowing exactly how he felt at the moment. It just didn't make sense to her that her teacher, the most powerful and benevolent pony in all of Equestria, would seemingly just give up so easily like that. If her duty was to protect and watch over her subjects, and she'd done so for thousands of years, then how was it she could be so comfortable with just throwing in the towel and calling it a day?

"Please tell me you have some sort of plan for this." Spike said suddenly, slowly lifting his head up from the table and staring into Twilight's eyes.

The lavender mare just gazed back at him, unable to say anything at all that could help reassure the baby dragon. Beyond her insatiable thirst for knowledge and perfectionist mentality, Twilight had always been the one to concoct some sort of idea that could alleviate even the harshest situations she and her friends had to deal with. Whether it was battling Discord with the Elements of Harmony or trying to help the ponies of Ponyville to accept Princess Luna after she was cleansed of Nightmare Moon, her intuitive nature always allowed her to take on anything head on and eventually come out on top. However, saving the whole of Equestria and taking on a political tyrant like Filthy Rich were two totally different things, and her usual approach of facing the problem head on was all but useless here. Every avenue she ventured down that seemed to hold any sort of hope for what could be done always hit a dead end, forcing Twilight to have to accept that there may be nothing that could be done here whatsoever.

"I..." she paused, trying to think of something, anything, that she could say that would encourage Spike as well as herself that everything would be alright.

However, as she was about to say something, Sweetie Belle passed by in her peripheral vision, walking past the doorway with a sullen expression on her little white face. Twilight watched as the filly made her way past, heading off to a different section of the library. The lavender mare found herself unable to take her eyes off the door Sweetie had just passed by, her inner vision still fixated on the sad sight of the downcast filly making her way by.

"Twi?" Spike said, his voice seeming to come from a great distance as Twilight heard it, "What're you staring at over there?"

Twilight shook her head to bring herself back to the conscious world. An idea had struck her suddenly, one that she'd thought about before, but that she'd placed in the back of her mind as something to try and accomplish later on.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she responded, standing up from her seat without looking back to Spike and making her way out the entryway and into the main part of the library.

"Hey, where're you going?" Spike asked.

Twilight didn't respond, instead walking slowly out into the lobby just in time to turn to the left and see a curly pink and purple tail make its way past another door. The mare followed it as it disappeared, carefully glancing past the entrance and into the room to see Sweetie pull a book of the shelf and lay it down in front of herself, curling up into a little white ball and beginning to stare at the first page. Slowly, gently, Twilight made her way into the room, walking right up behind Sweetie, who didn't even turn to acknowledge the other pony behind her.

Twilight peered down at Sweetie as she sat there, intently watching as she scanned the text in front of her. _This has to work_ Twilight thought as she stared at the filly before her _If not, then I don't know how we'll be able to do anything._

"Hey there, Sweetie Belle." Twilight said sweetly, walking over to stand next to the filly. "What's that you're reading?"

"Hey Twilight." Sweetie responded flatly, gripping the page in her magical green grip and flipping it, "It's just a Daring Do book."

"Which one?"

"Daring Do and the Kingdom of the Dark Alicorn."

"That's a really great one to read." Twilight said, smiling a little at Sweetie, "It's probably one of my favorites."

Sweetie said nothing to that, instead continuing to scan the book. Twilight bit her lip nervously, unsure really of what to do next. However, as she watched Sweetie use her magic to flip the page once more, another idea came to her.

"You're really starting to get good at using your magic now." she noted happily, "So good in fact that I think you deserve a treat for it."

"A treat?" Sweetie inquired, looking up from the tome since she'd begun to read it, "Just for using my magic?"

"It's always a big deal when a unicorn begins to really use their magic in a practical manner for the first time." Twilight responded, continuing to smile at the filly, "I just thought you ought to get a little something for it."

"Like what?" Sweetie asked, closing her book and standing up.

"Well, just sit tight here, and I'll head out to get you something." Twilight said, laying a hoof on Sweetie Belle's tiny shoulder, "Sound good to you?"

"Yeah, it does." Sweetie said, nodding somewhat excitedly.

"Alright then." Twilight said, turning and making her way out the door, "I'll leave Spike here so you're not all alone, and I'll be back before too long with something nice for you."

Sweetie nodded in acknowledgement and Twilight made her way through the door, walking past Spike, who was leaning on the nearby wall, staring at the mare with an eyebrow raised.

"A treat for her?" he asked incredulously, following after her as she continued towards the front entrance of the library, "Is this part of your plan or something?"

"Yeah, it is." she replied, placing her saddlebags on her back and opening up the door with her magic, stepping through before turning back around to face her dragon assistant, "Just stay here and try to keep her entertained till I get back. I shouldn't be too long."

"You wanna clue me in as to what exactly you're doing here?"

"All I can tell you is that this is a pretty long shot idea, and if it fails or works, I don't think it'll really fix anything with Filthy Rich."

"Then what's the point of it?" Spike asked incredulously.

"Because, if it works, then it'll at least be one step in the right direction." Twilight responded, "At this point, I think that's all we can really hope for."

Spike didn't say anything to that. He just locked his eyes on Twilight's again for a moment, taking in her serious expression as she stood before him. Then, he merely nodded and moved forward, hugging Twilight tightly.

"Good luck, Twi." he said, "I'll be waiting here with Sweetie for you to get back."

Twilight returned his embrace briefly before pulling away and turning around, hearing the front door close as she trotted away into town. After a short time of walking, she saw Sugarcube Corner in the distance, its usual tantalizing facade forcing it to stand out amongst the other buildings around it. Keeping the store in mind for later,she turned down a side street and proceeded to the other side of town. She'd have to come back to it before she returned home, but at the moment, her target destination was set, and she could just hope beyond hope that her idea would work.

Sweetie Belle and Spike sat in the library, the latter quietly reading a book while Sweetie found herself unable to stay still in anticipation for what sort of treat she'd be getting from Twilight once she returned from town. In her four days at the library, Sweetie had been falling even deeper beyond her initial bout of depression. The anger she'd felt upon leaving Carousel Boutique that night had long since subsided, leaving the tiny unicorn feeling somewhat empty and unsure of what to do now. However, a nice treat might be just the thing she'd need to take her mind off the situation at hoof and finally allow her to relax for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"I wonder what she'll get." Sweetie mused, now standing up and beginning to pace back and forth in anticipation for the arrival of the lavender unicorn.

"Hard to say." Spike said, lazily turning the page of the book and beginning to scan the next one, "But, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be great."

Sweetie found little satisfaction in that answer, but pressed the issue no further, instead continuing her silent contemplation. As she turned one last time and began to pace in the opposite direction, she heard hoofsteps near the front door and immediately looked back over her shoulder towards it, waiting for it to open. Sure enough, it swung forward, revealing Twilight standing there, a pink box on her back and a smile forming on her lips as she noticed the eager filly waiting for her.

"Hey there, Sweetie." Twilight greeted, making her way inside and shutting the door behind her, "Sorry it took me so long. It took awhile for Mrs. Cake and Pinkie to put this together for me since I didn't have an order called ahead or anything like that."

"Hey, Twi." Spike said, standing up and walking towards the mare, "You need any help there?"

"Yes, I do." she stated, gripping the box on her back with her magic and levitating it over to Spike, "Take this and Sweetie into the kitchen. I've gotta say goodbye to Pinkie real quick."

"Pinkie came with you?" Spike asked confusedly, cocking his head slightly as Twilight removed her saddlebags from her back and set them nearby, "That's the last pony I'd expect you to have brought back with you."

Sweetie noticed Twilight's eyes grow slightly wider as Spike finished his sentence before she looked towards the filly, putting on another smile, this one much more forced.

"She thought that we ought to catch up a little, since we didn't really have much time to talk to one another last night." Twilight said through half gritted teeth,

"Now, she's got a lot of work to do today, so I'll just go say goodbye to her while you take Sweetie into the kitchen, understood?"

"I still don't... Oh! Right." Spike said, his own eyes widening as an apparent realization came over him and he turned around, "Come on, Sweetie. Let's go into the kitchen to wait for Twilight."

Sweetie found the sudden change in tone for Spike and Twilight rather odd, but decided not to question it any farther than she had to. She turned and followed the baby dragon into the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder in time to see the door close quickly as Twilight made her way back outside. Spike sat the large pink box on the kitchen table and took his seat, Sweetie following suit. Together, the two conjectured about what it could possible be inside the box. Both agreed that it was a confection of some kind, but neither knew exactly what kind it could be.

Right as Sweetie was expressing her thought that it might be some sort of candy coated cake, the front door opened and closed, quickly followed by hoofsteps across the floor. In only a matter of seconds, Twilight appeared around the corner, walking right up to the table and having a seat.

"This was made especially for you, Sweetie." Twilight said, undoing the box with her magic and pulling down the sides to reveal the object inside.

Before them all sat around a medium sized cake covered in white frosting with swirled pink and purple borders on the top and bottom. Sweetie's jaw dropped a little upon seeing the treat before her, causing Twilight to giggle a little at the sight of the awed filly.

"I'll get some plates really quickly and we can have a piece or two." Twilight said, opening the nearby cupboard with her magic and bringing down three plates, "Spike, could you get us forks and a knife to cut this up?"

The baby dragon nodded and jumped up to grab the utensils while Twilight sat the plates in front of herself, Sweetie Belle, and Spike's place at the table. Upon Spike returning with the flatware, Twilight cut off a sizeable piece of cake and placed it on the plate in front of Sweetie before serving herself and her dragon assistant. Together, the three all dug into their piece of cake, idly chatting as they ate. Sweetie said very little as they all bantered back and forth, savoring her piece of cake and the freedom of mind that came with it. Even though she'd eaten a Sugarcube Corner cake many a time in her life, this one seemed to be more than just a sweet for her to indulge in. If only for the moment, it gave her weary mind a break from all that had transpired in the last week and a half.

"So, Sweetie," Twilight said, quickly swallowing her bite of cake before continuing, "Are you... feeling any better since you came here?"

Sweetie paused for a second to chew before swallowing and looking Twilight in the eyes. The lavender mare stared back at her, a small smile etched on her face, once again looking forced, though not as much as last time.

"I..." Sweetie began, trying hard to find the words she needed to say, "I'm not sure. I mean, I'm not angry anymore, I know that. But... I don't think I'm really that much better."

"You were angry?" Twilight asked in a soft tone, "I didn't know that. Was it... were you angry at Rarity or something like that?"

Sweetie pinned her ears back against her head, not wanting to think about how she'd acted towards her one and only sister that night.

"I was... angry at everything." Sweetie said hesitantly, "It just... isn't fair. Joshie didn't do anything wrong, but they still made him leave. I know that he's still out there, and maybe he'll be able to come home one day, but..."

Sweetie swallowed hard and closed her eyes, trying to fend off the tears that were threatening to flow from them. The filly felt a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to open her watery eyes and look in the direction of Twilight, who stared at her, a small smile upon her face once more.

"It's alright." Twilight said, gently running her hoof through Sweetie's mane, "I know it's hard for you to talk about it. It is for me too."

Sweetie wiped her eyes quickly, catching a stray tear as she did so before looking back up into Twilight's violet eyes. The lavender mare lay her hoof on Sweetie's, not once glancing away from the filly.

"Sweetie Belle," Twilight began, gently caressing the filly's hoof, "there's somepony here who really wants to talk to you. I don't know if you'd be willing to do that, but I just ask that you at least listen to them. Can you do that for me?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, causing Twilight to jump down from her seat and make for the entryway.

"Come with me real quick, alright Sweetie?" Twilight said softly.

The filly jumped down from her own seat and followed Twilight through the door and into the main lobby of the library. Spike plodded along after the two ponies, stopping near the stallion bust in the center of the room. Sweetie and Twilight stepped towards the front door, the unicorn mare stopping and turning around to face Sweetie Belle once more.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Sweetie nodded and Twilight returned the gesture before turning back around to face the door. Using her magic, she opened it up and stepped back, revealing a pure white unicorn pony with a mildly dishevelled, curly purple mane and tail and three powder blue diamonds on her flank. Sweetie Belle's jaw nearly hit the floor as she stood before her big sister, Rarity, who stared down at her with watery eyes.

"R-Rarity?" Sweetie said quietly, not once taking her jade eyes off her sister's sapphire ones.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle." Rarity responded softly.

Together, the two siblings stared at one another, neither one able to find anything more to say or do, forcing an uneasy silence to fall and increasing the tension in the air. For both ponies, the world seemed to melt away all around them, leaving just the two of them to stand before one another in a silent existence. It wasn't until Twilight spoke up that either one of them shifted their gaze away from their respective sibling.

"Rarity, would you like to come inside?"

"Huh?" Rarity said, shaking her head and looking to Twilight, "Oh. Yes. Thank you, Twilight."

Rarity stepped into the library, walking past Sweetie Belle and standing near Spike in the center of the room. Twilight closed the door behind the alabaster mare before turning to look back at her.

"Sweetie, I invited Rarity here because she has something she needs to say to you." Twilight said, causing Sweetie's attention to turn to her, "I know that I don't really have much of a right to tell you what to do, but I just ask that you listen to what she has to say."

Sweetie Belle said nothing to that, not being able to find anything even remotely sufficient that could or needed to be said. Her eyes lingered on Twilight for some time before the lavender mare looked back over to Rarity.

"Go ahead, Rarity." she said.

Sweetie turned back around in time to see her normally regal and affluent sister nervously paw at the ground with her ears pinned back against her head. Clearly, she had worked up the courage to talk to Sweetie Belle, but either hadn't given much thought as to what exactly she'd say upon standing before her, or was so nervous and unsure that any sort of rehearsed speech had all but left her head. However, the little unicorn filly didn't say anything as she watched Rarity begin to open and close her mouth in a vain attempt to speak to her.

"Sweetie... I..." she began, her voice beginning to shake as she spoke, "I'm so sorry. I should have been there for you more. I was... so caught up in my own feelings that I neglected to think about how you feel in all this. I knew you were sad and that Josh's leaving left you feeling broken like myself, but I just left you by yourself while I wallowed in my own sorrow."

Tears began to flow from Rarity's eyes as she spoke, tiny droplets rolling off her cheeks and falling to the floor beneath her. The alabaster mare's body trembled heavily as well and it seemed that she was about to collapse at any second. Twilight walked over to Rarity and placed a hoof on her withers, gently nuzzling her cheek in an attempt to console the white unicorn. Rarity sniffled several times and swallowed hard before continuing with her speech to Sweetie Belle.

"That night you left," she began, managing to regain control of her voice for the time being, "I tried so hard to find you. I looked all over Ponyville for you, hoping that I could convince you to return home with me where you'd be safe and... and so that I could be there for you finally. When I didn't find you, I went back home and unleashed my full fury against mother and father. I told them that they were no better than Filthy Rich with how insensitive they were being, and that it's because of ponies like them that you and I and the rest of Josh's friends are experiencing such heartache. I told them that they'll never be able to understand what he meant to us, and that... I'd stand by you even if they refused to."

Rarity stomped her hoof in emphasis of her last sentence, though her lip quivered once more as several tears made their way down her cheeks again. Sweetie Belle merely continued to stare at her sister, the mare she'd spent so much of her time idolizing and hoping to be like when she was an adult, with a type of disbelieving sympathy. Before her stood a very broken pony, one who had dealt with more pain and anguish in only a few weeks that some don't experience in a lifetime.

"Sweetie... I don't care what they may think about you or I when it comes to Josh and what happened with him." Rarity continued, her voice losing its steady tone again, "But, I do care for you, more than you'll ever know. I already lost one of my best friends... I d-don't want to lose my sister too..."

With that, Rarity finally lost her composure completely and collapsed to the ground, sobbing gently as Twilight began to rub her back gently.

"Sweetie," Twilight began, forcing the filly's attention away from her distraught sister, "with Filthy Rich in place as mayor, there's not a lot of hope for us. And with Vinyl pregnant now, we're in even more danger, because we have to make sure she stays hidden and safe from harm. If we're going to have any chance here, we can't allow ourselves to be split apart by petty squabbles. We have to stand together, united and strong."

Sweetie's gaze lingered on Twilight for a moment before focusing on Rarity, who was still lying on the floor, crying with her hooves over her eyes. The filly stared at her sibling for some time, taking in everything she had said, how she'd tried to find her and return her to the safety of her loving embrace, how she'd told off their parents for their insensitive actions and words against herself and Sweetie Belle. A wave of guilt washed over her mind as she thought about all the worry she must have put on Rarity over the last few days and how lonely she must have felt at not having anypony there to help her feel any better... much like Sweetie had felt...

"Rarity..." she said, causing her sister to uncover her eyes and look up at her.

Sweetie walked over to Rarity and knelt down, inching closer to her and continuing to stare into her eyes. The filly felt her eyes begin to water and blinked away a small teardrop, causing it to slowly roll down her cheek. She leaned in close to Rarity and gently nuzzled her cheek, her little body beginning to tremble as she continued to cry.

"I forgive you." she said, her voice shaking as she spoke into Rarity's matted coat, "I'm sorry I ran away. I just... It hurt s-so much... and I felt so alone..."

"I know, Sweetie." Rarity replied, wrapping her forelegs around her little sister and pulling her into a tight embrace, "I was too, and I should have handled myself better than I did."

"I... I..." Sweetie stammered, now almost completely shaking as her emotions overwhelmed her, "I w-want Joshie to c-come home. W-why'd he have t-to go?"

Rarity pulled Sweetie into her embrace even closer, crying with her and lightly stroking her mane. Together, the two sisters sat there, both relishing the feeling of being reunited after what seemed like such a long and lonely time. Twilight looked on, a smile gracing her face once again as she watched Sweetie Belle and Rarity cling to one another. Slowly, she backed out of the room and into the nearby kitchen, Spike following close behind her with a smirk on his face.

"Looks like your long shot paid off." he said, watching as Twilight used her magic to return the cake to its box and levitate the plates off the table and into the sink.

"Well, it's at least a step in the right direction." she replied, turning around to glance through the door and back at Rarity and Sweetie, both of whom were now affectionately nuzzling one another and chatting idly, "Even if this doesn't solve the larger problems at hoof, at least we won't be separated."

"Who knows," Spike said, placing the forks in the sink before jumping down and looking back to Twilight, "maybe seeing how you guys are all remaining so close like this... It could change some minds around here."

"That's what I'm hoping for."


	11. Chapter 11 Confidant

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 11: Confidant

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 11: Confidant

Fluttershy and Rarity sat in the Ponyville Spa, idly chatting back and forth as they sat in the sauna, taking in the warm, luxurious steam all around them. For the two mares, this activity was nothing more than routine by this point, and it proved to be a more than effective tool for them to get away from the insanity of the past few weeks. It allowed them a way to vent their frustrations for a time, with both of them able to relate to one another in their respective problems, most of which revolved around Josh, Vinyl, Filthy Rich, or any combination of the three. No matter how bad things may have seemed to be on the outside at any one time, they always left the spa with higher hopes than when they'd gone in. At least, they had before the events of the trial.

That week, they'd skipped their usual appointment, with neither pony emotionally capable of really going out into the once loving town they'd called home. While Rarity was dealing with the loss in her own way, Fluttershy had merely done what she was so used to herself, which included only leaving her home for the most dire of emergencies and spending most of her day curled up and crying. After some time, she'd actually managed to work up the courage to venture out for more than a few minutes, and had begun to go into town to visit with Vinyl or Octavia. Eventually, she began to check up on her other friends, in particular Rarity and Twilight after she'd heard about the falling out Sweetie Belle had had with her sister. The yellow pegasus had been extremely surprised to see Rarity on her front doorstep that morning, telling her that Sweetie had come back home and that as a celebration, she'd arranged an appointment for the two of them to return to the spa for a day of relaxing.

"So, everything's alright with you and Sweetie Belle now?" Fluttershy asked, watching as Aloe ladled some more water onto the coals in the furnace, causing a large plume of steam to rise upwards.

"For the most part, yes." Rarity said, "She's still upset with what mother and father said to her, but she's at least home, where I can take care of her properly this time."

"Well... In all fairness, you were really close to Josh too." Fluttershy replied, readjusting the towel on her head to keep it from drooping over, "You were just dealing with his loss in your own way."

"That's true, but hardly an excuse on my part." Rarity said, frowning slightly at the thought of her actions, "I didn't even consider Sweetie Belle's feelings in all this. But, I promised her that I'll never make that mistake again, and that she'll always be a top priority for me, no matter what."

"I'm glad to know you two are alright again." Fluttershy said happily, a small smile gracing her face, "You have no idea how worried I was about you both. The last thing you need after losing a friend is to lose a sister too."

"Believe me, darling, I was worried I'd lose her as well." Rarity responded, looking off into the distance, "But, thank Celestia for Twilight being there for us like that."

Fluttershy nodded and the two friends sat in a rather comfortable silence for some time, enjoying the feeling of the steam and heat as Aloe continued to pour several more spoonfuls of water onto the coals. After about ten more minutes in the sauna, Lotus came in and told them that it was now time for their hooficures, to which both ponies immediately jumped up and made their way into the large bath area, taking their places on the massage tables nearby to allow Aloe and Lotus to do their work. Together, Fluttershy and Rarity indulged in their respective hooficures while continuing to chat back and forth, Rarity about her sister and plans she had for the two of them, Fluttershy about her animals and how they'd been getting along.

"Angel was pretty upset with me when I didn't fluff his tail this last time." she said as Aloe continued to file at her left hoof, "I decided to make it up to him by doing it three times this next week."

"You really do love to pamper that bunny, don't you dear?" Rarity asked, doing her best to hold her head still while Lotus began to file away at her horn.

"Well... sort of." Fluttershy replied, blushing a little, "He just really likes having it done, and I'm not just going to say no to him when it comes to something

simple like that."

"Do you ever say no to him on anything?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but promptly closed it, unable to find any words she could say to defend herself on that point. Rarity just giggled quietly as she watched her pegasus friend lose her ability to speak.

"Honestly, Fluttershy. You can't allow him to get away with so much." Rarity said, "Otherwise, he may develop a bad attitude when he doesn't get his way."

"What about Opal?" Fluttershy asked, squirming a little in her seat as Aloe began on her lower hooves, "You spoil her all the time."

"Opal was... high maintenance when I got her." Rarity replied, her thoughts trailing back to her cat, "It's almost impossible to please her sometimes. Thank Celestia cat's are somewhat self-sufficient animals. Well... cat's that aren't Opal are, at least."

Fluttershy took her turn to giggle now as Rarity began to frown a little at the thought of her pet. At that moment, Vera, the third member of the spa staff, rushed in and told Aloe and Lotus that another customer had arrived, to which the two sisters set down their tools and apologized to Fluttershy and Rarity, saying they'd be back to finish off their hooficures before too long.

"Not a problem, girls." Rarity said, waving them away with a hoof, "We'll be here when you get back."

Together, the three spa ponies made their way out the door and into the main lobby where they greeted their guest. Rarity looked to Fluttershy, who stared back at her with her usual soft look.

"So, you've heard about what happened with Vinyl, I presume?" Rarity began, looking towards the door to ensure that nopony was there.

"Something happened with Vinyl?" Fluttershy asked, looking all around the room herself.

"Yes. Twilight was telling me about it." Rarity continued, "Apparently, Octavia came to her and said that Vinyl had been admitted to the hospital three nights ago, and that she was on suicide watch."

"On what?!" Fluttershy yelped, quickly covering mouth.

Rarity's eyes grew wide with panic and she glanced back towards the door. When nopony came through after several seconds she let out a sigh of relief and glanced back to Fluttershy, who gave her a big toothy grin of apology.

"You must be careful about that, dear." Rarity said, "I know that it is a startling thing to find out about, but we mustn't draw any more attention to ourselves than is absolutely necessary. We don't truly know who we can trust in this town."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement before speaking once again in a whisper.

"So... she... tried to..."

"Unfortunately." Rarity said, nodding slowly, a sullen expression falling over her face, "Apparently, the poor girl got farther down than we thought, and attempted to take a... rather drastic measure."

"She's alright now though, isn't she?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, she's not trying to do anything more to herself at least." Rarity said, her ears flattening a little as she spoke, "However, the doctor's did have a rather startling bit of news for her."

"Oh my... There isn't anything else wrong with her, is there?" Fluttershy asked in a somewhat loud, panicked tone.

Rarity opened her mouth to respond but stopped as soon as she heard other voices coming closer from beyond the doorway.

"Please, make your way in here, and we'll get everything started for you Miss Blossom." said Lotus, standing in the door and gesturing for another pony to enter.

Fluttershy and Rarity glanced towards the door just in time to see a mare with a bright pink coat and long green mane enter and make her way over to them.

"Oh. Hello there, Fluttershy, Rarity." Rose Blossom said, raising her eyebrows a little, "I wasn't expecting to see you two here."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Rarity asked, glaring daggers at the pink mare.

"Nothing more than what I said." Rose Blossom replied, walking over and standing in front of Rarity's seat, "And there's no need to be hostile towards me. I haven't done anything to you."

"That's where you're wrong." Rarity spat, fighting the urge to stand up and get in Rose Blossom's face, "We lost our best friend because of hateful ponies like you. For you to say that you're innocent in any way is a complete and total lie."

"It's hardly my fault that you made friends with the wrong individuals." Rose Blossom retorted, leering at the alabaster unicorn, "You may have been blinded by your so called 'generosity', but the rest of us eventually saw him for what he really was."

"How dare you!" Rarity shot back, now off the table and beginning to advance on Rose Blossom "You and everypony else here had absolutely no clue as to who he was! You all got so caught up in your own paranoia and ignorance that you allowed it to cloud your minds."

"Did we, Rarity? Did we?!" Rose Blossom said, not backing down from Rarity as the unicorn approached her, "You knew long before the rest of us what he was, what he'd done before coming here. Had you known the truth when he first arrived here, I doubt you'd have been so forgiving and willing to give him a chance like you did."

"That's hardly relevant!" Rarity shouted, "So what if I didn't know right away? I didn't need to in order to know that he could be a good person!"

"And what if he'd done something to Sweetie Belle, Rarity?"

"Never! Josh would never do anything to my little sister!" Rarity was now beginning to scream at Rose Blossom, "You would dare to insinuate that he'd do something malicious to her?! Not once did he ever even think of hurting her! Perhaps he should have done something to hurt you!"

"And who's to say he wouldn't have?" Rose Blossom returned, now beginning her advance on Rarity, "You may have your head stuck so far up your own plot that you can't see clearly, but I don't! You call yourself a good judge of character, but you couldn't tell the difference between a bunny and Discord himself. Just because you felt it was alright to put your own little sister in harms way with that... monster, it doesn't mean that I'd be so quick to make the same mistake with my son. You're a fool, Rarity. You and everypony who was so quick to accept him as one of us. You stand there and say that the side I took in this was wrong, but you should be on your knees kissing my hooves for being a part of helping us avoid a potential danger!"

Rarity's face took on a heavily flustered expression, and she began to splutter, unable to find anything to respond with. Rose Blossom smiled at the alabaster mare's inability to say anything.

"Don't bother trying to say anything more." she said, walking away towards the back of the room, "I sincerely hope that one day you'll take off your rose colored glasses and allow yourself to see the truth."

Rarity sat down with her mouth agape as Rose Blossom walked away, unable to believe what she'd just heard. Rose Blossom continued her self-righteous sauntering over to the satin curtain dividing the spa, looking back towards the flustered mare she had managed to make completely speechless with the same pompous grin she'd had before walking away.

"Y-you're the monster."

Rose Blossom's gaze dropped off Rarity and fell upon the pastel yellow pegasus next to her, who was now standing up from her original seated position and was glaring at the pink mare across the room.

"What did you say?" Rose Blossom asked, making her way slowly back over to the pair and focusing her ire on Fluttershy now.

"I said that you're the m-monster." Fluttershy replied, more boldly than she would be normally, "Rarity's right. You judged him before you knew him, and I seem to remember you being just as nice to him as any of us ever were."

"That was before I knew the truth, Fluttershy." Rose Blossom responded flatly.

"And what truth would that be?" Fluttershy asked, her voice rising steadily, "That he made mistakes in his past that he was trying his hardest not to make again? If that's what we're judging everypony for here, then none of us deserve any sort of love or compassion from one another."

Rose Blossom, for the first time since being in the argument, took a step backwards, her mouth slightly agape as she watched the usually demure and shy pegasus pony actually become infuriated.

"And as for him being dangerous, I challenge you to find one single time that he ever laid a hoof on you or your son." Fluttershy said, her eyes locked on Rose Blossom's.

Rose Blossom took her turn to splutter now, unable to find a single thing she could say to Fluttershy as the pegasus stared her down fiercely.

"Nothing?" the yellow pony said, her rage rising ever higher, "That's what I thought."

Rarity looked on much like Rose Blossom, simply staring at Fluttershy as she almost seemed to transform into a ferocious version of her former self.

"You call us fools, but you're nothing more than a hateful, spiteful, two-faced... bitch!" Fluttershy said boldly, practically shouting the last word and causing Rose Blossom to step backwards even more and crouch down, her ears flat against her head, "It's because ponies like you that we lost one of the greatest friends any of us has ever had, and on top of that, you helped to ruin two completely innocent lives!"

Fluttershy never noticed it, but she had begun to advance on Rose Blossom, causing the pink mare to back herself into a corner and almost begin cowering. Rarity merely watched in awe, unable to believe what her friend was now turning into before her very eyes.

"I hope that your son sees the way you are, how angry and evil you've become, and that he aspires to be nothing like you in the future. I hope that you'll spend the rest of your existence lonely and miserable, that way you can know just what you've done here and how you've made both Josh and Vinyl feel!"

Fluttershy's eyes were wild and locked on Rose Blossom's now trembling form. The adrenaline shooting through her veins made her heartbeat skyrocket and her brain was filled with nothing but a blind rage. All she could do was direct her full fury at the pink pony before her, standing over her and watching her cower under the glare of the inexplicably empowered pegasus mare. Not since taking Iron Will's advice and becoming a rage machine had she ever felt this type of sensation.

"Fluttershy..."

As soon as she heard her name being called from what seemed like a great distance away, her heart rate began to slow, and she returned to her usual state. The pegasus shook her head, bringing herself back to the world of reality and looking back to her friend behind her.

"Rarity," she said angrily, turning around to face the unicorn, "I'm sorry, but I need to go. I just... I can't stay around anymore."

Rarity sat with her jaw hanging open, her gaze darting back and forth between her friend and the cowering earth pony on the ground. Fluttershy turned around to see Rose Blossom, hunched down and staring up at her with wide, fearful eyes. Fluttershy didn't take notice of Rose Blossom again as she marched towards the entryway and headed for the door of the shop.

"Miss Fluttershy?" Vera called after the pony, "Aren't you going to stay and finish your treatment?"

Fluttershy made no effort to respond as she headed for the door. Her mind was still full of too much anger to really comprehend anything other than to get her out of that shop and go back to her home. It wasn't until she heard Rarity call after her and run up behind her that she actually stopped her forward motion at all.

"Wait!" Rarity called after the yellow pegasus, "Don't go!"

"I'm sorry, Rarity." she said firmly, as her friend approached her, her eyes watering heavily, "I just... I can't deal with all this right now. I'm going home."

Fluttershy turned around once again and opened the door, stopping once more and looking back around to see Rarity staring at her with hurt in her eyes.

"P-please..." the unicorn stammered, her voice beginning to shake as a tear rolled down her cheek, "Don't go... It's over, okay? She's not going to bother you or I again, I promise."

"That's... what I'm afraid of, Rarity." Fluttershy said sullenly, "I'll see you later."

With that, Fluttershy made her way out of the shop, taking to the air and flying across town, back towards her home on the edge of the Everfree Forest. As she flew, she replayed the scene that had just transpired over and over again in her head. She'd always told herself that after the incident with Iron Will and his attempts to make her more assertive, she'd never act out like that ever again. However, she'd dealt with too much in the last few weeks and had experienced so much heartache and pain that all it would take was a single off-hoof comment to make her lose her cool, of which Rose Blossom and Rarity had just experienced the full fury. Fluttershy suddenly felt all her bundled up emotions reach their peak and she found herself unable to hold back her own tears, forcing her to let out sobs of frustration and grief as she soared over the town and back to her home.

Fluttershy dejectedly trudged down the path to Ponyville, her head hung low as she made her way back towards the town. Since leaving the spa after yelling at Rose Blossom, she'd been cooped up in her house all day, crying heavily and doing her best to avoid thinking about the events of the day. This, however, had proven to be nearly impossible, as she kept seeing the earth pony's scared look whenever she closed her eyes and had continued to relive almost the entire event throughout the day. She'd expected Rarity or somepony else to come by and check on her, but no such thing happened. This felt like a simultaneous blessing and curse, as Fluttershy wished not to be disturbed, but also was worried that her actions may have scared away anypony who might try and help her. Eventually, she rationalized in her own mind that they were just giving her the space she needed, and that nopony was going to abandon her over one outburst.

Though that had done just enough to help her feel a little better, she was still very down. However, she had decided not to go her usual route of completely shutting down and remaining in her home, which had lead her to be walking back towards town in the first place. Normally, she'd have gone to one of her friends and talked to them as a way to help her feel better, but for whatever reason, that wasn't what she was planning on this time. Instead, she was headed towards the town pub, The Frost Mug, where she would occasionally go if she felt like her friends couldn't help her much in a particular situation. There, even if she didn't talk to anypony else, at least the ever friendly bartender, Frosty Mug, would be there to talk to her and keep her company for awhile.

Upon reaching town, she immediately headed to the left and found the familiar building that was The Frosty Mug Pub. Walking inside, she saw the bar was unusually empty, save for a few older ponies in the corner who were chatting idly, large mugs of cider sitting in front of each of them that they would occasionally sip on before returning to the conversation. Fluttershy looked to the bar and saw its practically iconic unicorn owner walking back and forth, shifting bottles around as he dusted the liquor shelves. Slowly, she approached the bar and jumped up on a seat, silently almost hoping that she wouldn't be noticed as Frost continued to dust his shelves. As the pegasus took her place, however, Frosty immediately took note of her, a small smile falling across his face.

"Well, hey there, Fluttershy." he said gently, setting down his feather duster and making his way over to the pegasus, "You're one of the last ponies I'd expect to see here."

"I've been feeling... really down today," Fluttershy timidly explained, "and... well... I just thought maybe I'd come down and... at least sit around for awhile, if nothing else."

"Makes sense to me." Frost said, grabbing a glass in his magic as well as a cloth, using it to wipe the interior, "I gladly welcome your company. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Um... I'll just have a soft drink." she said quietly, to which Frosty nodded and turned around, heading back towards the fridge in the corner and opening it up.

Using his magic, he pulled out a bottle filled with a bright pink liquid as well as another glass. He quickly poured the fluid into the glass before returning it to the refrigerator and heading back towards Fluttershy on the other end of the bar.

"Here ya go, sweetheart." he said, setting the glass down before her, "It's strawberry lemonade. Drink up."

Fluttershy thanked Frosty before lifting the glass up to her mouth and taking a sip, feeling the slight sting of the carbonation on her tongue as the ice cold liquid entered her mouth. It was unbelievably refreshing, and helped to ease her mind just a little.

"So," Frosty began, picking up his usual glass swabbing habit, "what's got you so down in the dumps, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy set her glass back down before explaining to Frosty what had happened that day, beginning with she and Rarity spending time together at the spa. At first, she told the story with relative ease, but when she told the barkeep about what she'd done when Rose Blossom began to speak badly about Josh, her emotions from earlier that day threatened to overtake her mind once again. Through the whole story, Frosty just sat quietly and listened, occasionally nodding or giving some other means of acknowledgement of Fluttershy's words. After the pegasus finished by telling him about how she'd gone home and cried, a short but heavy silence fell between the two, punctuated by the continuing chatter of the older ponies on the other end of the bar.

"Well," Frosty began, setting down the one glass he was cleaning and picking up another in his magic, "if you ask me, you were perfectly in the right to do what you did, Fluttershy."

"But, you should never be mean to others," Fluttershy said timidly, "no matter what they may say or do."

"True. But, everypony has their breaking point, and all it takes is for somepony to say one thing, and that can set others off."

"I should just know how to control my temper better, I suppose..."

"No way." Frosty said as Fluttershy took another sip of her drink, "In my personal opinion, I think you should've yelled at her more. I would have."

Fluttershy set her drink down again and gave Frosty a confused look, to which he smirked slightly.

"I can't tell you how many times I worked in here and heard nothing but ponies spreading around that hate speech that Filthy managed to shove into their heads." Frosty continued, now scowling a little, "There they sat, harshly judging a guy they barely knew at all. I'll never understand why it is that they could be so ignorant as to refuse to look past what he'd been like before and see how he was in the here and now."

"What I don't see is how they could turn on him so quickly." Fluttershy said, "Almost everypony here loved him before all this mess. How could Filthy Rich do a thing like this?"

"He's a fantastic speaker." Frosty replied simply, "He was able to instill a sense of fear and paranoia amongst those here, and you'd be surprised how powerful a weapon like that can be."

"But what were they so afraid of?" Fluttershy asked somewhat indignantly, "The only pony I'd ever see him lay a single hand on was Filthy, and he deserved it. Not one time did he ever attack anypony else."

"They weren't so much afraid of what he had or hadn't done in his time." Frosty said, "They were afraid of his potential to be harmful, what he possibly could

do."

"But they never could know what he could do!" Fluttershy replied, now scowling herself, "It's nothing more than speculation!"

"That's very true, and as his friends, we understand that concept. However, others who didn't know him like we did will never see it that way. If I were to tell you about the potential for some sort of danger, your number one concern wouldn't be to try and analyze it, I'm sure. You'd try and find the best way to keep yourself safe, and that's what they believed they were doing."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but found there was nothing she could say. Frosty was indeed right in his line of thinking. Fluttershy was a pony whose existence seemed to be perpetuated by her own incessant fears, and a lot of her time was spent finding ways to minimize her potential to be in danger. Admittedly, when she'd first met Josh, she was extremely afraid of him because of his size and rather intimidating appearance, but had come to care for the human as time went along and she got to know him better. To a certain degree, she could see why those who weren't as close to him would be wary of him, but in her mind, that still didn't excuse their behavior at all.

"You... you were his friend too, weren't you?" asked Fluttershy, internally wincing as she realized she'd asked something dumb.

"I'd like to think I was." Frosty said, smirking once again, "Admittedly, I wasn't as close to him as some others, but we did have some very engaging conversations whenever he was in here, and I got to know him better through that."

"So, when you found out about his past, you didn't judge him like everypony else?"

"Of course not." Frosty replied, "Then again, I pretty much knew who he was the moment he walked through that door."

Again, the yellow pegasus shot Frosty a confused look.

"How... is that possible?"

"I don't need to speak to somepony to know who they truly are, Fluttershy." Frosty responded, letting out a light chuckle, "I could see it in him from the moment he opened that door and made his way in here. He walked with a type of swagger that indicated just what he thought of himself, but there's something hidden behind that type of attitude that others don't really see."

"Like what?"

"In his particular case... there was a lot of guilt, and a lot of hurt." Frosty said, now looking downwards as he spoke, clearly thinking back on his first encounter

with the human, "I didn't know all of that right away, but I was able to infer the truth pretty quickly. You can always tell when somepony has lived a life of regret and loneliness. They just have... a sort of air about them."

Silence fell once more between the two ponies as both contemplated the last words spoken. Then, almost out of nowhere, a voice called from the opposite end of the bar, causing both Frosty and Fluttershy to turn their attention towards the figure.

"Hey, Fffrostyyyyy," the pony slurred, sitting up a little in her seat and hiccupping loudly, "c-can I g-get another gin and carrrot j-juice?"

Fluttershy looked a little closer at the figure seated there, unable to really see them for the shadow that fell over their form. She knew the pony was a mare, a pegasus mare to be more exact, but wasn't completely able to discern who this might be.

"Alright." Frosty said, sighing, "I'll get you one in a second. Just hold tight, Rainbow."

Fluttershy did a double take upon hearing the name of the mare and gasped in shock. Slowly, she climbed down from her seat and made her way towards the drunken pony, staring at her intently as she approached the pony. Eventually, she stood before the other pegasus, her mouth still wide open as she looked the mare up and down one more time, her gaze settling on the polychromatic mane that flowed down her neck.

"R-Rainbow..." she said, reaching a hoof out gently to touch her friend and make sure she was real, "Have... have you been... here the whole time?"

Slowly, drunkenly, the cyan mare turned to look at the pony addressing her, staring into her teal eyes with her own bloodshot, rose colored ones. A smile came across her face as she recognized Fluttershy, and she stumbled off her own stool to attempt to stand and greet her properly.

"Hey there, Fffluttershy." she said, swaying back and forth as she reached out to embrace her friend, fighting to stay upright once she grabbed onto her, "No, I haven't b-been here the whole t-time. I g-go home once they c-close."

Fluttershy's jaw still hung slack as Rainbow Dash stepped away from her, nearly falling over onto her rump. Rainbow's usually untidy mane was even more of a mess, and the fur on her chest was matted and slightly stained from where she'd spilled some of her drinks. She peered at her yellow friend with half lidded eyes, both of which seemed like they would close at any second and force the mare to pass out.

"How long have you been doing this?" Fluttershy asked, watching as Rainbow struggled to climb back up onto her stool, "Are you in here every day?"

"Uh... I like to come in here and g-get something to drink once in awhile." Rainbow slurred, finally able to return to her seated position and right herself for the time being, "Then, I get another... and another, and... well, I th-think you get it."

Fluttershy continued to stare at her friend as she turned back towards the bar and took a swig of her new drink, letting out a little hiss as the alcohol made its way down her throat. Neither pony said anything for some time, with one too shocked to be able to speak, and the other too inebriated to form much of a coherent sentence anymore. Fluttershy slowly climbed up onto the stool next to Rainbow, not once taking her eyes off the other mare.

"W-why, Rainbow?" she asked suddenly, "Why are you doing this?"

Rainbow didn't respond right away, refusing to look at her friend. Instead, she took one more sip of her drink, fumbling the glass as she brought it to her lips, spilling some down her chest.

"I n-never got to say goodbye to him, Shy." she responded, setting the glass back down, still not looking towards the other pegasus, "None of us did... He just... poof, and he's gone. I always just assumed... that he'd always be here. After all, he loved this place. Why would he ever leave us?"

Rainbow continued to stare at the bar, and as Fluttershy tried to peer around and into Rainbow Dash's face, she noticed a tear beginning to trail down her cheek.

"It's... It's all my fault, Shy." Rainbow said quietly, her voice breaking as she spoke, "I c-could've stopped it... I could've done at least somethin'. But I din't... I... I failed, and now... I'l n-never get to... to say... Ah, screw it... It wouldn't have made any difference anyway."

Rainbow heaved as she began to sob, slouching over the bar and placing her head in her crossed forelegs as she wept. Acting quickly, Fluttershy tenderly wrapped one of her wings around the distraught pegasus, holding her as close as she could. Eventually, Fluttershy herself began to cry, her tears falling from her face and onto Rainbow's shoulder.

"I just... I w-want him to come home!" Rainbow wailed, finally reaching around and embracing Fluttershy, "H-he didn't deverve this! W-why did this have t-to happen to him, to us?"

"Rainbow," Fluttershy said gently, rubbing her friend's back as she held onto her shuddering form, "I know it's not fair, and... I know that you were close to him. But, we can't spend all our time mourning his leaving, and especially not like this."

"So what m' I supposed to do, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, lifting her head up to stare at the yellow pegasus indignantly, "Jus' say it's all okay and move on? Maybe that's easy for some ponies', but they didn't share the sort of bond that I had with him. I know that Vinyl was his marefriend, but me and him were... he was... my best friend!"

"There's nothing wrong with missing him, but you can't turn to alcohol to take the pain away." Fluttershy said firmly, "It's just not healthy. And, besides that, he wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself."

Rainbow opened and closed her mouth in a vain attempt to respond, but found no words she could say. Instead, she continued her crying, burying her face into Fluttershy's chest once more as the pastel mare continued to comfort her. They sat there for some time, both crying and holding onto one another. Neither one said a single word as they remained there, with both mares knowing that words weren't necessary in this moment.

"Y-yeah, you're right." Rainbow finally said, sniffling.

The colorful mare released her friend, wiping her bleary, bloodshot eyes, "I'm... sorry... that I haven't been there with all of you through this. I just... I din't know what to do."

"It's alright, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, smiling at her drunken friend, "Come on. Let's get you out of here. You can stay at my house tonight so you don't have to try and fly."

Rainbow sniffled and nodded her head, slowly and carefully climbing down from her seat. Fluttershy wrapped her wing around the intoxicated pegasus, helping to steady her as she stood there. The two ponies walked around to the middle of the room before Fluttershy stopped and turned back to face Frosty, who had been watching the two pegasi intently since Fluttershy had walked over to talk with Rainbow.

"How much does she owe you?" Fluttershy asked, walking back up to the bar and preparing to pull out a small bag of bits.

"Hmm?"

"For the drinks. I'll pay you whatever she owes."

Frosty looked back to Rainbow, who was sitting on her rump on the floor, her head hung low and a few tears still trailing from her closed eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds before looking back to Fluttershy and smiling a little.

"She doesn't owe me anything." he said simply.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, "I know she must have used up a lot of your liquor..."

"Fluttershy, she's been through a hard time." Frosty said, setting down the glass he'd been swabbing, "I've seen a lot of ponies who turn to the bottle in bad situations. For those ones, I give them a few drinks to get them by and then see to it that they can move on. She doesn't owe me anything, just the promise of her safety."

Fluttershy smiled back at Frosty, who winked at her a little before turning back to the bar to continue dusting his shelves. The yellow pegasus turned back to her friend, walking over and draping her wing over her once again and helping her stand up. Together, the two pegasi made their way out of the bar and out into the dark Ponyville night, the light of Luna's moon guiding their way. They said very little as they walked, save for Rainbow's occasional remark about the surrounding area and how pretty it looked with the silver light from above playing off each surface.

After a short time, they reached Fluttershy's little earthen cottage, which gave off a soft golden glow from the lights inside. Upon entering, Fluttershy carefully lead Rainbow up the staircase and into her own room, turning on the light and guiding her towards her bed at the head of the room.

"You can take my bed for the night." the demure pegasus said, helping Rainbow up and onto the mattress, "It'll be easier for you to make it to the bathroom should you get sick in the night or something like that."

"What about you?" Rainbow asked, swaying back and forth as she tried to sit up on the bed, "Where're you gonna sleep?"

"The couch downstairs is plenty comfortable for me." Fluttershy said, pulling back the covers for Rainbow to climb under, "I just want to make sure you're alright for the night."

"Ey, c-can't you just give me that same stuff you gave Twilight when Josh and I c-came over with her that one night she got drunk?" Rainbow asked, clumsily sliding under the covers of Fluttershy's bed, "That ought to sober me up."

"I would, but I ran out of the ingredients to make it." Fluttershy said, pulling the blankets up over Dash's body and smiling sweetly at her friend, "Sorry Rainbow, but it looks like you'll just have to wait this one out."

"Oh... well, tanks for helping me out, Shy." Rainbow said, laying her head down on the pillow and giving Fluttershy a drunken smile, "It really does mean a lot to me."

"It's no problem, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, draping her wing over her friend one more time, "Just try and get some sleep and come morning, I'll go out and get you something to help with your hangover."

Rainbow nodded and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep almost instantaneously. Fluttershy carefully shut the door to her bedroom and proceeded back downstairs, taking her place on the couch and curling up tightly. She felt a strange mixture of grief and gratefulness within her as she thought about her sleeping friend upstairs. She'd been unbelievably worried about Rainbow, having not seen her since the end of the trial, but was glad that she had found the polychromatic mare and that she was at least somewhat alright, if not extremely intoxicated at the moment. With at least one of her tensions eased, Fluttershy felt herself begin to drift off into her own world of sleep, but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of thumping nearby.

Looking up, she saw her pet bunny, Angel, standing in front of the couch, tapping his foot with a sour expression on his face.

"Oh, hello there, Angel Bunny." Fluttershy said sweetly, "Did I take your spot on the couch? I'm sorry."

Fluttershy shifted over several inches, allowing enough room for the little white rabbit to jump up and lay down himself. The pegasus smiled at her little pet as he curled up just like her and went to sleep. Fluttershy lay her own head back down and was asleep in mere minutes, her dreams filled with Rainbow Dash and Josh and visions of the two friends spending time together once again, carefree and happy.


	12. Chapter 12: Thoughts

Second Chances III: Redemption by Hero541

* * *

Chapter 12: Thoughts

Second Chances III: Redemption

_By Hero541_

Chapter 12: Thoughts

Josh sat in a secluded spot on the opposite side of the large pool area in the center of the Red Rock Resort, half a drink in his hand and his gaze caught in a thousand yard stare as his mind fell into its usual realm of thought. Nearby, the after party for Syd's first show on tour was in full swing at the Cherry Nightclub, with people milling all about, some chatting idly with others, some dancing as music blasted out from the club. The scene was more than familiar to the young producer, who had experienced enough of these nights to know what went into it all. _Hell, it was a night like this that essentially landed me in Equestria to begin with_ he thought, taking a sip of his drink and continuing to stare at the party before him, silently reminiscing on the events that night before he'd been transported to the place he'd soon begin to call home.

He hadn't given that night much thought over the course of the last year, instead choosing to focus on his marefriend and the life they were sharing in Equestria. Now, however, he couldn't not think about it. That particular evening hadn't really occurred to him all that much, instead adding itself to the muddled and dark painting that was his previous life before ending up in Equestria. He did know that it carried a certain level of significance though, and seeing the after party going on now had begun to conjure up images of that fateful night and everything that lead him to the place he'd call home, and to the mare he loved.

"Evening stranger!"

Josh's focus shifted from his own internal pondering and back to the world around him, forcing him to look in the direction of the voice that called to him. He smirked a little when he saw Liam striding towards him, a smile on his face and a drink in his hand.

"You're the last person I'd ever expect to see away from a party like this." Liam said, stopping short of Josh and gazing down at him.

"I've experienced my own fair share of parties like this in the past, L." Josh said simply, taking a sip off his own drink, "Don't need that kind of temptation anymore. Besides, I wanted to get out and just... think for a bit, I suppose."

"I guess you can never do too much of that, can you?" Liam asked, smirking himself as he continued to stare at Josh, "Mind if I take a seat out here with you? I'd kinda like to get away from it all for a bit myself."

Josh nodded and Liam moved towards the chair next to Josh's own, taking a seat and sighing heavily. For some time, the two sat in a comfortable silence, save for the sound of the music issuing forth from the club a short distance away. Josh's thoughts began to drift away once more as Liam sat next to him, occasionally lifting his drink up to take a sip of it, causing the ice cubes in it to clink together.

"Well," Liam said, forcing Josh's attention towards himself once more, "what'd you think of the show?"

Josh thought for a second, trying his hardest to formulate anything that would give some sort of illusion that he wasn't conflicted the whole time. He had enjoyed the show tremendously, and actually found he had more fun watching Syd on stage than he would have had he been up there performing with him. However, he couldn't help but think of Vinyl during the whole performance, and his mind continued to drift towards the concerts he and the unicorn had put on in his time there. Each and every song that passed reminded him more and more of his mare and his friends at every one of their shows, each one caught up in the euphoric bliss that came with electronic music. This caused a sort of double edged sword effect, where Josh truly had relished the music and the atmosphere once again, but also felt a great degree of sadness at thinking about what he'd lost not so long ago.

"It... was a lot of fun." he said simply, silently cursing himself for not thinking of anything better, "He's definitely great up there."

Liam raised his eyebrow slightly at Josh's response, and at that moment, the young man felt extremely transparent.

"You always were a terrible liar, Josh." Liam said, leaning forward in his seat as he locked eyes with his friend, "It reminded you of her, didn't it?"

Josh opened his mouth to try and protest, wanting to say that he was just tired or something else along those lines, but he found himself mute in that moment. Liam knew Josh all too well, and to try and lie to him would be an effort in absolute futility. In the end, the young man just resigned to slowly nod his head, prompting Liam to do the same in understanding.

"I figured as much." Liam said, leaning back and taking another sip off his drink, "I had been rather worried about how you'd react, being back around all this so soon. I didn't want you to run the risk of opening up any wounds, but I just chose to let it be, and kept my mouth shut."

"I was the one who chose to come back to it all." Josh pointed out, shrugging slightly, "I knew that it'd be hard, but I just told myself that I wouldn't let it bother me. For all the good that did..."

"Well, if you're still connected to her via the music, I can hardly blame you for making the choice you did in this case." Liam said, "I can tell you right now that I'd be more than willing to do the same were I to be in your situation. You wanted to have something that could remind you of all the time you spent with Vinyl, so you did what you deemed to be proper, even though you knew it'd be painful."

Josh merely nodded at that, unable to really find anything more that he could say. In hindsight, his decision to return to a life surrounded by music seemed like less of a good idea with all the pain he now realized he'd have to endure along the way. It wasn't so much even the music that reminded him of his mare, but the overall atmosphere of the show that night had been the trigger he'd needed to conjure up images of him standing next to her, playing the board and controller with the love of his life while the crowd went crazy.

"I just... I wish it could stop hurting." Josh said solemnly, burying his face in his hands and fighting the urge to cry.

"It'll always hurt, Josh." Liam said, placing his hand on Josh's shoulder, causing the young man to look back up and into his friend's face, "No matter what anyone says or does, it'll always hurt because you loved her so much. And there's nothing wrong with that. You are no more or less a man because you carry sadness for a lost love. Nobody's going to hold a gun to your head and say you have to move on with your life, so don't try and force yourself past something like this. It's not healthy."

Josh continued to stare into Liam's face, into his own deep brown eyes and the sincerity and care behind them. Though he hadn't experienced anything like what Josh had in the last few weeks, if there was anyone who could understand a difficult situation like this, it would be Liam. Josh knew that Liam of all people could at least level with him and not judge him for whatever he may say or do. This wasn't merely because Liam was the only one who knew what had happened with Josh, but also because he had an ability to be deep and forthright when the situation called for it. _He's right_ Josh thought, _I can't get away from this, but maybe I can ease the pain by just saying something..._

"L..." Josh said, hesitating as he spoke, "can I be honest with you for a second here?"

"Of course you can, mate." Liam responded, leaning back in his seat once again, "In fact, I'd prefer that over anything."

Josh opened his mouth, trying his hardest to phrase what seemed like, in his mind, the hardest thing he'd ever had to say in his life.

"I didn't go to Equestria looking for love." Josh explained, "In fact, once I got there, I just wanted to come back home, back to the life I thought I needed, back to... back to all this, essentially."

Josh gestured to the scene of the party before him as he spoke.

"I knew in my mind that I didn't belong there, even if everyone else there thought I did." he continued, his voice beginning to waver, "I acted almost no differently there than I did here, and that got me into a lot of trouble. So much trouble that I ended up racking up enough debt that I wasn't allowed to leave till it was all paid back."

"What kind of debt exactly?" Liam asked, confused, "You weren't involved in some type of gambling thing there, were you?"

"No, nothing like that." Josh responded, shaking his head and letting out an embarrassed chuckle, "Just... me being dumb."

"I see."

"Yeah. Anyway, that's why I was gone as long as I was that first time. I had to earn the money, and the only way I could was by helping Vinyl's best friend, Octavia."

"Wait a second," Liam said, raising his hands to stop Josh, "this... Octavia, she was essentially extorting you, wasn't she?"

"That's a rather harsh way of putting it, but yeah, she kind of did."

"And you allowed this?"

"What else was I gonna do?" Josh asked indignantly, "Believe it or not, most of Equestria wasn't really calling out for a music producer, and nobody would be likely to hire me because I was a lot bigger than them and seemed intimidating. It'd be bad for their business, even though a lot of ponies liked me later on."

"That... oddly enough makes sense." Liam said, still rather dumbstruck, "So, what did she have you doing then to make the money back?"

Josh hesitated, his mind drifting back towards the first time he'd encountered Vinyl after upstaging her and making a vow to help her become the best producer she possibly could.

"I helped Vinyl out. Taught her how to make music."

Liam's jaw dropped as he made the connection in his mind.

"That's... how it happened, isn't it?" he asked in awe, "How you two... fell for one another."

"Pretty much." Josh replied, smiling as he watched Liam's sudden change in expression, "I really didn't want to do it at first, but I knew that if I ever wanted to go back home, that'd be my only way to make it happen. As far as I was concerned, she was nothing more than a roadblock that I'd have to worm my say past. But, as time went along, and I got to know her better, I stopped seeing her as just another talking pony standing in my way of going back home. I saw her as... almost human in a way, someone I could connect with on a personal level, someone not that different from me. She was another artist, trying so hard to live out her own passion but being shot down each and every time. The moment I realized that was when I truly felt it, felt that I was falling for her."

"I came back home the first time because I wasn't sure of myself, wasn't sure that I was what she needed. As far as I was concerned, I'd be nothing more than a burden to her, someone who would hold her back from achieving her own goals she'd been trying so hard to hit since before I came along. On top of that, I feared that my past would catch up to me and that I'd be tempted to make the same mistakes there that I had here. If there was one thing I never ever wanted, it was to hurt Vinyl in that way, like I had so many others. But, in the end I realized that it would hurt her more for me not to be by her side, loving her and being there for her whenever she needed me."

"See, I'd spent so much of my time thinking that what I needed was to be back here, continuing my tours and moving on with my life. It turned out that the thing I thought I needed was just something I wanted because it was all I'd ever known. When I fell in love with Vinyl and was separated from her the first time, I realized just how empty and lonely my existence had been, and that what I really needed was to be back in Equestria with her. I guess Princess Celestia knew all along that I'd make that decision, and so she was kind enough to return me to where I belonged."

Another round of silence fell as Josh finished speaking, the only sound to be heard being the music issuing forth from the nearby club. Josh continued to stare at his friend before him who had finally taken his gaze off the young producer and was now staring at the ground, taking in everything Josh had said. While waiting for some type of response from his friend, Josh felt an odd type of freedom at having just shared his thoughts with Liam, a feeling that he'd not known since leaving his home in Equestria. It had felt genuinely good to have someone he could talk to about everything that had happened and who he knew wouldn't just give him a blank stare and write him off as some type of insane person. After some time of silence, Liam smirked and looked back up to Josh, his eyes sparkling a little in the flashing lights coming from the club.

"You know, I can't pretend to understand what it is that you've gone through." Liam said, locking eyes with his friend once more, "I don't think most men would. I fact, when you left to go back and live there, I was wracked with confusion over why you made the decision you did. The most obvious thing was how and why you fell in love with a pony from another dimension, but I also questioned why you'd leave behind everything you had here, sacrifice all the money, fame, and adoration to go to some far off world and spend your life there. It just didn't make any sort of sense to me, and it wasn't until I found Samantha that I began to truly understand."

Liam leaned in closer to Josh, not once taking his gaze off the young man's blue eyes.

"You had found the one thing that can truly change a man, can take him from being cynical and lonely to ecstatic and excited about life. You had found love, albeit in the form of a small equine, but love never the less. Once I realized that, I didn't have any more questions."

Liam placed his hand on Josh's shoulder, giving it a slight, comforting squeeze before continuing.

"I can only imagine how hard it is for you right now, and I know full well that it's not going to get better anytime soon. The pain will always remain, but so will the memories, and those very memories are the thing you need to look upon for comfort and guidance rather than the hurt you feel when you realize that she's not here. That doesn't necessarily mean that you move on, but it does mean that live every day for the very love you lost."

Josh nodded in a rather solemn understanding as he took in his friend's words. Liam pulled Josh into a light embrace, which Josh returned in full force.

"I didn't know Vinyl that well." Liam said once they relinquished their grip on one another, "I only met her once and maybe said three words to her if I was lucky. But, I can understand what she meant to you, and like I told you before, if there was any possible way I could get you back home to her, any way at all, I'd give everything I have if it means you get to be happy."

Josh just smiled at Liam, feeling a warmth spread through his body as he looked upon his old friend.

"Thanks, L." he said.

"No problem, mate." Liam responded, looking back towards the party in the club, "Well, I'd probably better get back in there. Syd was already drunk when I left and I'll need to make sure he hasn't broken anything."

Liam rose from his seat and took a few steps toward the club before turning back around to face Josh.

"You coming along?" he asked, gesturing behind him towards the party.

"I think I'm good out here for now." Josh said, smiling a little, "Just gonna... enjoy the atmosphere for a bit longer."

"Alright then." Liam said, turning back around and making for the club.

"Hey, Liam?"

"Yeah?" Liam said, stopping and turning around once again.

"Thanks... for listening to me." Josh said.

"Anytime." Liam responded, smiling wide as he turned back around and headed towards the thumping music.

With that, Josh was alone once again, only his thoughts to occupy his time. He leaned back and stared up at the stars, watching the tiny sparks of light twinkle freely in the inky black night sky. As he looked towards the immeasurable heavens, a small shooting star streaked across the canvas of dark, causing him to crack a small smile and close his eyes as his thoughts drifted back towards Equestria and his mare.

Warden slowly trotted through the dark hallways of Ponyville city hall, on his way towards the office of Filthy Rich. He'd received a late letter from Filthy saying that he wanted to meet and discuss matters of importance. The police chief had considered disregarding the notice, if nothing else so he didn't have to be around Filthy, whom he'd already disliked, but had grown to hate with a passion after his move to make the princess send Josh back home had worked. However, he realized that any attempt to ignore the new (and in his opinion, undeserving) mayor would be an effort in absolute futility. So, he reluctantly made his way towards the office of Filthy Rich, praying that whatever sort of meeting the stallion had planned with him would be a quick one.

After heading up the stairs and turning the corner, he spotted the front door to the mayor's office and directed himself towards it. Standing before the entryway to Filthy's new office, Warden hesitated for a moment, looking the door up and down with distaste. _I could just turn around and go home_ he thought, grimacing as he thought about Filthy on the other side _Then again, he'll just send for me again..._ That thought caused Warden to let out a heavy sigh, knowing that there was officially no way out of this now. Slowly, he raised his hoof and knocked on the door, prompting a response from within.

"It's open. Come in."

Using his magic, Warden opened the door and stepped into the room. The entire office was filled with a soft, orange glow from the nearby fireplace, which crackled gently as it burned. The large desk in the center of the room reserved for the mayor was vacant, save for a small stack of papers in one corner and the lamp on the opposite side. Closing the door behind him, Warden stepped further into the room, glancing all around for where Filthy Rich could be.

"Evening, Warden." a voice called from nearby, causing the police chief to jump slightly and whirl in the direction it came from.

Upon turning his attention towards the region he'd heard the voice come from, Warden noticed Filthy standing in front of one of the large windows at the head of the office, staring out of it to the darkened streets below.

"Mayor Rich,." Warden said, standing tall and saluting, "you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, I did." Filthy replied, not turning from his position, "Have a seat."

Warden nodded and dropped his salute, taking a seat in front of the mayor's desk. Upon sitting down, he fixed his gaze back on Filthy, who continued to stare intently out of the window. For some time, the two stallions sat in silence, only the fire crackling softly in the nearby grate to break up the lack of noise. The police chief continued to watch Filthy, waiting for him to say something or make an attempt at addressing him further. However, Filthy made no such action, his body still turned towards the window before himself as he stared out of it to the dimly lit streets below. After a few more seconds, Warden cleared his throat loudly, hoping to achieve some sort of reaction from Filthy, to no avail.

"No disrespect sir," Warden began, trying his hardest to keep any level of irritation out of his voice, "but were you going to tell me exactly why I've been summoned to your office in the middle of the night?"

Filthy continued his silence, though Warden did hear him let out a little snicker and saw his mouth twitch into his usual smirk. The unicorn was now definitely at the end of his patience, and was truly regretting having come out to city hall when he could just as easily be back at home, in bed with his wife and sound asleep. Just when Warden was ready to give up hope on getting anything more out of Filthy, the earth pony stallion turned slightly, not taking his gaze off the window.

"Tell me, Warden," Filthy began, turning and peering at the police chief out of the corner of his eye, "do you ever just... sit and take some time to appreciate all you have in your life, all the things you've received because of your hard work and dedication?"

Warden raised his eyebrow a little, confused as to why Filthy would ask him something like that when clearly he hadn't called him down for some sort of idle banter.

"I have in the past, yes." Warden replied, "Why do you ask?"

"I just figure that you and I are very much alike in that regard." Filthy said, making for his desk and taking a seat, "After all, we both have accomplished many things that we've strived for in our lives, and in some cases received a bit of a bonus for all that we've done."

"And what exactly would your bonus be, sir?"

"You're looking at it, my friend." Filthy replied, smiling and gesturing around the room.

Warden was taken aback by Filthy's statement, and it clearly showed as Filthy let out a slight chuckle.

"You seem surprised."

"I just... didn't realize that becoming mayor wasn't what you'd intended to do from the get go." Warden said, regaining a little of his composure, "I just assumed that your getting rid of Josh and uniting the ponies here in your cause was means to an end."

"Hardly, though you seem to have a knack for piecing things together." Filthy replied, opening a cabinet under his desk and pulling out a large glass flask filled with a dark, amber liquid, "Care for a drink?"

Warden shook his head, to which Filthy shrugged and removed the top of the flask, sniffing at the contents inside.

"From what I've heard, this is a very fine year of whiskey that Mayor Mare kept in here." he said, brandishing a glass and pouring in some of the liquid, "But, in answer to your confusion, I had no intention of ousting our lovely mayor from her long held position. In fact, I assured her that she may remain in my cabinet at the highest position she so desires, short of running this town, of course."

"If you believed her to be so capable, then why'd you take over anyway?" Warden asked as Filthy placed the flask back in the cabinet and picked up his glass.

Filthy took a quick swig off his drink before replying, letting out a slight hiss as the alcohol made its way down his throat.

"The ponies of this town spoke loud and clear, Warden." he said, setting his glass down and throwing his back hooves up and onto the desk, "Though I have much respect and adoration for Mayor Mare, they clearly didn't, and who would I be to refuse them what they want? Plus, call it a bit of narcissism, I suppose, but I'm not gonna just turn down a lofty position like this."

As Filthy took another sip of his drink, Warden felt a white hot burning rage enter his mind. _It wasn't enough to get Josh tossed out of here_ he thought, fighting the urge to vault over the desk and attack the pompous stallion on the other side _he had to take over the town as well?_ As Warden's angry diatribe against Filthy continued in his mind, the mayor suddenly removed his hooves from their position and returned to a normal seated position, fixing his eyes on Warden once more.

"However, I didn't invite you down here to discuss matters of politics." Filthy said, pushing his drink off to the side.

"What exactly am I here for then?" Warden asked, unable to keep the ire from entering his voice.

"I have a task for you, Warden." Filthy began, "It's one that I know I can only entrust to you. What with your impeccable record as police chief, and your loyalty to me throughout this ordeal over the past few weeks, I believe you're the perfect pony to come to for what I need done."

"And what exactly would that be, sir?"

"As I'm sure you're well aware, Ms. Vinyl Scratch was recently released from the hospital after being held for several days." Filthy said, jumping down from his seat and pacing back and forth behind his desk, occasionally stealing a glance out the darkened window nearby.

"I had heard that, yes." Warden replied, "They reported it in the Ponyville Express recently."

"And did the report actually say why she was admitted?"

"Yeah," Warden said, thinking back to what he'd read in the paper, "If I remember right, she'd fainted from malnutrition, hadn't been eating. Somepony took her to the hospital so they could get some food in her and get her rehydrated."

"Hmm." Filthy said, stopping suddenly and placing a hoof on his chin, "That's not exactly what I told them to write... It'll have to do though."

"Wait a second," Warden said, raising his hooves and forcing Filthy's attention back towards him, "what do you mean that's not what you told them to write? Are you... censoring the media here?"

"Not necessarily." Filthy replied, smirking a little as he continued his pacing, "It was just one detail I wished to have omitted for... political reasons."

Warden opened and closed his mouth, unable to find any words that would be of any use here. Only in the land of the griffins had he ever heard about media being censored in any form, and the ponies didn't live in that type of paranoid monarchy.

"The truth about Ms. Scratch's situation is that she was admitted for self inflicted wounds." Filthy continued, stopping at the window once more and looking outside, "She cut her own fetlocks so deep that she hit a major artery and lost so much blood that she came dangerously close to Death's door. Thank Celestia for the quick actions of her friend, Octavia, otherwise the poor girl might not be among us today."

At this point, Warden's jaw was almost completely slack and was in danger of falling off completely. Only a few times in his life had he ever heard of somepony attempting to commit something as drastic as suicide, and though he could understand somewhat Vinyl's actions, the news that she'd tried to take her own life was beyond jarring.

"I... I can't believe she'd try to do that..." he said, almost all of his previous rage gone and replaced by disbelieving curiosity, "I mean, she does have a bit of a history of being... emotionally unstable, but to attempt to take her own life..."

"It is sad, and we should all be thankful that she was unsuccessful in her endeavor there." Filthy said, walking back over to his desk and taking a seat behind it, "After all, it'd be a shame to lose such a sweet and lovely young mare by her own actions."

"I thought you couldn't stand Vinyl Scratch, sir." Warden said flatly, "If I remember right, you called her a slut and have mentioned on more than one occasion how she's unnatural and a traitor to her own kind for living with a human."

"We all say things in the moment that we don't really mean, Warden." Filthy replied, grabbing his drink once again and taking a sip off it, "I have nothing but concern for Ms. Scratch at this point. I'd hate to see her gone from us so soon, and by her own hoof."

"If that's the case, then please explain your reasoning for censoring the truth from the citizens here." Warden, trying his best to keep a level and calm voice.

"My reasoning there is two fold." Filthy replied, "I don't wish to have her looked down upon any more than she already is, and I'd like to maintain my seat as mayor here without it being jeopardized by her."

"What?" Warden asked, confusion sinking in again as he took in Filthy's words, "How could she do that?"

"Think about it, Warden, "Filthy began, leaning over the desk as he spoke to the police unicorn, "If she were to expire by her own actions, then somepony would have to place blame for her death. I was the one who had her 'lover' sent out of here, so it'd only be natural for the blame to fall on my shoulders. The ponies of this town may be loyal to me now, but that loyalty will always take a backseat to the death of one of their own. She already garners enough sympathy from her friends, it wouldn't be hard for them to do the same thing that I did and gather ponies against me for inadvertently causing her to die."

Warden tried to find anything he could use to refute Filthy's argument, but was unable to come up with a feasible hole in the point that he'd made. Indeed, it would make sense for ponies to band together in the defense of one of their own, even if she had had a bad reputation at one point. Loyalty is a powerful force, but sympathy for another can tear apart anything that stands in its way, and Warden knew that Vinyl's untimely death could have been used as a huge weapon against Mayor Rich.

"But, wouldn't she just tell everypony here what happened anyway?" Warden asked, hoping in vain that he could catch Filthy off guard.

"You really think she'd want that kind of attention, after what she's been through?"

Warden hung his head slightly and sighed, unable to find anything more that could be of any use.

"So," he began after a short silence, "what exactly did you have in mind that you needed me to do?"

"I'm glad you asked." Filthy said, leaning back in his chair, "You see, I'd attempt to do this myself, but my position as mayor doesn't exactly allow me a whole lot of freedom to just leave the office as I please. So, I called you here to take on the task of spying on Ms. Scratch for me."

"Spying on her? What do you need to spy on her for?"

"Call it a... precautionary measure, I suppose." Filthy stated, taking a sip off his whiskey, "All I need you to do is keep an eye on her and ensure that she doesn't try something like this again, and if she does, you can see to it that she doesn't succeed in her attempt. By keeping her alive, I can remain where I'm at, and she gets the chance to move on with her life. It's a win win situation."

"And if I refuse to do this?" Warden asked, venom entering his words as he spoke.

Filthy chuckled a little and smirked, standing up from his seat and walking around to where Warden sat, placing a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt at a comforting manner.

"Tell me, my friend," he said staring into Warden's face as the stallion wheeled around to face him, "how long have you lived in Ponyville now? Fifteen years? Ten of those you've been married to your beautiful wife, Stargazer, have you not?"

Warden nodded slowly, prompting Filthy to continue.

"And, if I'm not mistaken, you have an adorable young colt about the same age as my own Diamond Tiara, correct?"

"Yes, I do." Warden replied coldly, a feeling of dread creeping into his mind as Filthy continued.

"That's wonderful." Filthy said, stepping around to Warden's other side, "You know, they think the world of you. In their eyes, you're practically a superhero, an amazing individual who can do no wrong."

Filthy trotted around to face Warden, staring into his face once more, a wide smirk on his face.

"But, you never told them exactly what it was that you used to do, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Warden asked, glaring at Mayor Rich, "They know exactly what I did before I came here. I told them both all about my time in the Canterlot royal guard. My son asks me about it all the time."

"Come now, Warden." Filthy said, now smiling devilishly, "We both know that that's not exactly what I'm talking about. You may be able to lie to them, but not to me."

Warden felt his stomach drop as he realized what Filthy was eluding to. _How in Celestia's name could he possibly know about that?_ he thought, panic rushing through his mind.

"I looked at your file some time ago." Filthy began again, stepping back around and taking a seat at his desk, "From what I remember, they called you an... how was it they put it... 'espionage and tactical expert'. Nothing more than a fancy term for a spy, and a good one at that to be active for ten years."

"S-so what if that's what I used to do?" Warden asked, his voice shaking as his heart raced, "I doubt that you'll be able to use something like that against me like you did Josh, sir."

"Perhaps not, but I also know that there's another aspect to your former job, one that's significantly more messy than just... keeping an eye on a suspicious pony or two."

Warden opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped short as Filthy leaned forward in his seat, glaring back at the police chief.

"How many ponies did you kill in the name of Equestria, Warden?" Filthy continued, his voice becoming low and menacing, "Was it ten, twenty, maybe more? Perhaps you did it so much that you can't remember the number anymore."

Now, Warden was truly speechless. The only response he could muster was to sit and stare at Filthy Rich, his mouth agape and his face deathly pale as the stallion opposite him continued to smile evilly.

"How..." the unicorn said quietly as Filthy leaned back in his chair.

"You think Luna's the only pony I can get information out of in Canterlot?" Filthy asked, "This time, I didn't even have to come across it by accident."

Again, silence fell between the two stallions, with one unable to speak for disbelief, and the other not needing to say anything more. Warden now understood how Josh had felt, the fear he must have experienced at having all his secrets aired out for everypony to know and use against him. Here he sat, frozen and silent at knowing that in one move, the stallion seated across from him could ruin his life.

"So, you're going to extort me now?" Warden finally said after what seemed like an eternity.

"Oh no no no, Warden." Filthy said, waving his hooves in a defensive manner, "I have absolutely no intention of doing something like that to you. That little tidbit of information will remain solely between you, myself, and Princess Celestia, presuming she already knows about it. I'm just showing that you may have a bit more of an incentive to do this task for me than you previously thought."

Warden looked down at the ground, his mind racing. _So, it's either I spy on a completely innocent pony, or possibly lose my family..._ he thought, knowing that there was no way out of his situation at this point. He'd told himself long ago that he wouldn't ever return to doing something like what he used to, but now it was clear that if he wanted to hold on to any sort of semblance of his life, he'd have to take up the job he'd left so long ago.

"So, allow me to ask you," Filthy continued, forcing Warden's attention back up towards him, "will you take on this duty for me, Warden?"

The police chief didn't answer for some time, a combination of rage and fear stealing his words. He was half tempted to attack Filthy Rich here and now, to subdue him with his magic and beat him senseless for even thinking about attempting to extort Warden. But, as he thought about it more, he realized that he could use the opportunity as a way to help keep Vinyl safe, not even for Filthy's political agenda, but for his own conscience. Though he detested the idea of having to take up the mantle of a spy again, he knew that as an officer of the law, his duty was to keep the ponies of Ponyville safe. His mind now completely made up, he looked back to Filthy Rich, who still has his usual pompous smirk on his face.

"Of course I will." he said coldly, saluting Filthy Rich, "It would be my honor, sir."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Filthy said, "You'll start tomorrow, bright and early. I want regular reports at the end of every day, and if you hear anything even remotely suspicious from her little camp, you're to tell me straight away, understood?"

Warden nodded, his icy glare still locked on Filthy Rich.

"You're dismissed then, Warden." Filthy said, waving his hoof lazily.

Warden once again saluted and stood from his seat, making for the door. An angry determination had taken his mind as he'd sat there, being forced into an action that he so despised. *But just because he's going to use this as a means for his own selfish agenda doesn't mean that I can't turn it for some sort of good* Warden thought as he reached the door, opening it with his magic.

"Oh, and Warden?" Filthy called back at him from his desk.

Warden turned around mid stride and faced the mayor once again, silently dreading whatever it was he had to say next.

"You're doing Ponyville a greater service than you possibly know." Filthy stated simply, smiling at the police chief.

"Of course, sir." Warden replied flatly, making his way out the door and through the darkened halls till he reached the city hall entrance, heading out into the darkened streets of Ponyville and back towards his home and family for the night.


End file.
